Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson
October 16, 2021

Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Molly Phee will embark October 16 on her first trip to Africa as Assistant Secretary.  Assistant Secretary Phee will begin her travel in Ghana, where she will meet with senior government officials and civil society representatives.  The Assistant Secretary will reaffirm our strategic partnership and explore cooperation to advance shared global priorities, including ending the COVID-19 pandemic, expanding U.S.-Ghana trade and investment, addressing the climate crisis, creating opportunities for clean energy, and strengthening democracy in West Africa, through Ghana’s leadership as Chair of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).  As Ghana will join the UN Security Council for the 2022-2023 term, the Assistant Secretary will also lay the groundwork for advancing shared objectives and cooperating on key international and regional Africa priorities.

From Ghana, the Assistant Secretary will travel to Burkina Faso, where she also will meet with senior government officials and members of the business and civil society communities.  The Assistant Secretary will underscore our shared goals of strengthening democratic governance and building lasting security in Burkina Faso and across the Sahel.  She will discuss how to harness U.S. trade and investment to diversify and grow Burkina Faso’s economy.  Assistant Secretary Phee also will participate in an engagement at Africa’s largest and most prominent film festival—the Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO)—which promotes partnerships between American and African independent filmmakers.