Obama kicks off trip to Africa
Improving relationships called purpose of visit
dAKAR, Senegal — President Barack Obama on Wednesday opened a weeklong trip to Africa, a three-country visit aimed at overcoming disappointment on the continent over the first black U.S. president’s lack of personal engagement during his first term.
But the highly anticipated trip threatens to be overshadowed by the deteriorating health of former South African President Nelson Mandela.
Air Force One touched down in Dakar, the Senegalese capital, on Wednesday evening. The president, who is traveling with first lady Michelle Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha, also is scheduled to visit South Africa and Tanzania.
The president is expected to be greeted warmly during his trip despite the underlying sense of disappointment. U.S. flags dotted the roadways as Obama’s motorcade sped through this coastal city, and signs welcoming him and bearing his picture hung on homes and businesses.
Obama’s father was born in Kenya, and several relatives live there. Yet Obama spent just one day in Africa during his first four years in office and has focused instead on strengthening U.S. ties with Asia and Latin America.
“Africans were very excited when President Obama was elected, and they expected deeper engagement than in the past, both in regard to policy and also in terms of actual visits to the continent, given the president’s African heritage,” said Mwangi Kimenyi, an Africa analyst at the Washington-based Brookings In- stitution. “Africans have been gradually disappointed, especially when they look at the focus on Africa by previous presidents, in particular President Clinton and President George W. Bush, who did quite a bit there.”
Few major policy announcements are expected during Obama’s trip. Instead, he will focus on promoting democratic institutions, boosting opportunities for Africa’s youth population and promoting the continent as a growing market for U.S. businesses.
The White House defended the purpose of the trip despite its low policy expectations.
“Presidential trips to regions of the world like Africa bring enormous benefits in terms of our relationship with the countries visited and the countries in the region,” spokesman Jay Carney told reporters traveling with Obama on Air Force One. “The trip itself will not be the end point of our engagement but will enhance it, deepen it and further it.”
The president will make two stops at sights that highlight Africa’s harsh racial history: Senegal’s Goree Island, which was the center of Atlantic slave trade, and Robben Island, the apartheid-era prison in South Africa where Mandela spent 18 years of his 27 years in prison.
The White House is monitoring Mandela’s health. The 94-year-old antiapartheid leader has been hospitalized for three weeks with a lung infection, and South African officials have deemed his condition critical.
There were no formal plans for the two men to meet, though aides left open the possibility of Obama meeting with Mandela’s family.