U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris used a meeting Friday with Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan to condemn the invasion of Ukraine and emphasize how important it is for the world to stand up to Russian President Vladimir Putin.<\/P>
Tanzania has abstained on all three resolutions related to the conflict at the U.N. General Assembly, including the vote demanding that Russia withdraw its military forces, provide civilian protection and humanitarian access in Ukraine, and the vote to suspend Moscow from the U.N. Human Rights Council.<\/P>
Harris met the Tanzanian leader at the vice president’s ceremonial office adjacent to the White House, a historic encounter between Tanzania\u2019s first female leader and the first American female vice president.<\/P>
Before their meeting, Harris outlined to reporters three areas of discussion: strengthening democracy, investment and economic growth, and global health.<\/P>
\u201cOur administration is deeply committed to strengthen the ties in Tanzania and to African countries in general,\u201d Harris said. \u201cThis has been an area of attentional focus and priority for both the president [Joe Biden] and for me.\u201d<\/P>
Aviation pact<\/P>
The U.S. and Tanzania recently signed the Open Skies Air Transport Agreement, which establishes a civil aviation relationship between the two countries. The two leaders welcomed the investment of nearly $1 billion from American companies in Tanzania\u2019s tourism and energy sectors, according to a readout provided by the White House.<\/P>
Suluhu, elevated from vice president when John Magufuli died in March 2021, has signaled she wants to steer Tanzania\u2019s foreign policy from inward-looking to one that draws more foreign investment. To that end, she has met leaders in Beijing, London, Brussels, Moscow and the Persian Gulf.<\/P>
She used her speech at the 76th session of the U.N. General Assembly in September \u2014 the first time a Tanzanian leader has addressed the body since 2015 \u2014 to market her country as a trading partner, promising business-friendly policy changes.<\/P>
\u201cMy government would like to see our relationship grow further and strengthen to greater heights,\u201d Suluhu told Harris. \u201cMy only request here is to call the U.S. government to encourage more of the private sector from the U.S. to work with us.\u201d<\/P>
Former Ambassador to Tanzania Mark Green, who is now president of the Woodrow Wilson International Center, said the meeting was a good sign for bilateral relations as well as U.S. interests in the continent.<\/P>
\u201cWe know that the continent is looking for U.S. investment. We should pay attention, and we should look for opportunities to partner whenever we can,\u201d Green told VOA.<\/P>
Under pressure from civil society, Suluhu is also trying to return Tanzania to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which would be another milestone in reopening her country.<\/P>
Pandemic aid<\/P>
Tanzania is one of 11 African countries the U.S. is supporting through the Initiative for Global Vaccine Access, or Global VAX, to boost COVID-19 vaccination rates in developing nations.<\/P>
U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Samantha Power met virtually with Suluhu in March and announced an additional $25 million in aid for Tanzania. This was on top of the $42 million and the 4.5 million COVID-19 vaccine doses that the U.S. government had provided the country for its pandemic response.<\/P>
However, without a single dollar of the $5 billion that the administration requested for its global COVID-19 response approved by Congress, by September USAID will no longer be able to finance Global Vax for countries including Tanzania.<\/P>
Africa policy<\/P>
The Biden administration has laid out a set of priorities for its outreach to Africa, including working toward COVID-19 recovery, combating climate change, boosting trade and investment, and supporting democracy.<\/P>
In a visit to Kenya in November, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington sees African countries as equal partners, as he outlined the administration\u2019s policies toward a continent that receives much of its foreign aid from China, a U.S. rival.<\/P>
\u201cThe United States firmly believes that it\u2019s time to stop treating Africa as a subject of geopolitics \u2014 and start treating it as the major geopolitical player it has become,\u201d Blinken said in Abuja, Nigeria.<\/P>
However, beyond the administration\u2019s effort to combat the pandemic on the continent, there has not been much movement in other areas. Build Back Better World \u2014 an infrastructure investment program that the administration has been touting as a better alternative to Beijing\u2019s Belt and Road Initiative, scheduled to launch this year \u2014 has been delayed.<\/P>
Russia\u2019s February invasion of Ukraine is likely to continue to be the focus of the administration in the months to come.<\/P>
\u201cCertainly there are a lot of fires burning right now and I think the Biden administration is spread thin,\u201d Green said.<\/P>
In September 2021, Harris met with President Akufo-Addo of Ghana and President Hakainde Hichilema of Zambia. Earlier this month, Biden spoke with President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa.<\/P>
<\/P>
Source: Voice of America<\/P>
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