(Ecofin Agency) - The US First Lady embarked on a visit to Namibia and Kenya in February to enhance partnerships. It is noteworthy that this marks her second visit to the continent, coinciding with her husband's anticipated trip to Africa later this year.

U.S. First Lady Jill Biden (photo) began a visit to North Africa on Friday, June 2. After Egypt, the First Lady arrived in Morocco on Sunday, June 4.

In both Maghreb countries, she mainly visited cultural and youth promotion centers and also met with President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi and King Mohammed VI. The main focus of discussions during her visits was cooperation to promote the social and economic inclusion of vulnerable populations, including women, the youth, and people with special needs. 

This visit comes three months after the American First Lady visited Namibia and Kenya to strengthen partnerships with the continent, which was neglected during Donald Trump’s presidency. 

In recent months, several high-ranking American officials have visited the African continent in a bid to rekindle relations between the two sides. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen visited three African countries (Senegal, Zambia, and South Africa) from January 18 to 28, and U.S. Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield visited Ghana, Mozambique, and Kenya from January 25 to 29.

The trips seemed to be paving the way for President Joe Biden, who announced he would be visiting the continent this year despite the details of that visit being unknown for the time being.

As a reminder, at the USA-Africa Summit in December 2022, the Biden administration pledged $55 billion in investment in Africa over the next three years. 

Moutiou Adjibi Nourou