First Lady Jill Biden will visit Namibia and Kenya, her office announced on Feb. 21.
The Feb. 22–Feb. 26 trip seeks to “strengthen the United States’ partnerships on the African continent, and advance our shared priorities in the region,” said the First Lady’s Office in a statement.
Biden will first stop in Namibia, where “her efforts are really focused on the role of young people in continuing to shape their democracy and advance health cooperation,” an administration official told reporters on a Feb. 21 call previewing the trip.
“Namibia is one of the continent’s long-standing democracies—one of only eight classified as free according to Freedom House,” said a senior administration official.
The last time a most-senior U.S. official visited Namibia was then-Vice President Al Gore in 1996.
When it comes to Kenya, said the senior administration official, the United States works with the country “on peace and security challenges in Somalia, Ethiopia, and eastern Congo as well as global issues.”
Kenya, said the official, is “an attractive destination for U.S. investment in a country where we are expanding our trade relations through the strategic Trade and Investment Partnership.”
Moreover, noted the senior official, Kenya has been “dealing with the devastating challenges of food insecurity resulting from the failed rains in the Horn of Africa and worsened by Russia’s war against Ukraine.”
The last time a most-senior U.S. official visited Kenya was then-President Barack Obama in 2015, being the first U.S. president to do so.
Biden’s “engagements will focus on the empowerment of women and youth, efforts to address food insecurity, and promoting our shared democratic values,” the statement announcing the trip said.
The visit comes months following the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, where around 50 African leaders converged on Washington between Dec. 13–Dec. 15.
“The purpose of her trip is to reaffirm the U.S. government’s investments in Africa, not just in their governments, but in their people, and to continue her work to empower women and young people,” a senior administration official told reporters.
The trip, said the official, will be a “demonstration of President [Joe] Biden’s commitment that the United States is all in on Africa and all in with Africa.”
The First Lady will meet with her counterparts, Monica Geingos and Rachel Ruto, in Namibia and Kenya, respectively.
The Africa trip will be Biden’s sixth as she visited the continent five times when she was Second Lady between 2009 and 2017.
