Speaking to the media in Lagos, Nigeria, on Tuesday, at the end of a US Commerce Department-led American Global Diversity Export Initiative (GDEI) trade mission to South Africa, Ghana and Nigeria, US Commerce Under Secretary for International Trade Marisa Lago highlighted the commitment of US President Joe Biden and his administration to deepening American engagement with Africa. Biden made this commitment at the US-Africa Leaders Summit that he hosted in Washington, DC, in December. Since then, Lago pointed out, a series of high-level US officials have visited Africa. The most prominent of these have been Vice President Kamala Harris, First Lady Jill Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Add in visits by other, less prominent but still senior, officials, and the result has been what Lago called a “a very high, sustained pace” of visits to Africa by senior and very senior US officials.
