In the face of China’s deepening involvement in Ghana, the US has committed to strengthening its partnership with the West African country. It has upped its diplomatic charm offensive in Ghana, including a recent visit by the US Vice President, Kamala Harris. The visit occurred after a visit to Ghana by the US House of Representatives speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and other house representatives, becoming the first US House speaker to address the Ghanaian Parliament. While in Ghana, the Vice President explicitly denied that her presence in Africa was solely due to concerns about China. However, the underlying issue of China’s deep influence in Africa loomed over Harris’ African tour. The vice president was frequently asked about it by the press and landed at several Chinese build airports and travelled on newly paved roads.
To counter China’s BRI, the US introduced the Build Back Better World (B3W) initiative in 2021, in collaboration with the other G7 member countries. This initiative aims to address the infrastructure gaps in low- and middle-income countries, including Ghana. The US has embarked on several diplomatic initiatives and committed to aid packages, signalling an enhanced commitment to reestablish deeper cooperation with Ghana and Africa at large. This underscores the US strategic priority to mend its relationships in Africa, which were strained during the previous Trump administration.
The US’s Millennium Challenge Corporation is currently implementing a £251 million critical infrastructure project to help transform the Ghanaian power sector. During her visit, Kamala Harris further announced several aid packages for Ghana, including £110.31 million in bilateral assistance for economic and cultural development in 2024, as well as a £79.36 million investment in Ghana and four other West African countries to help deal with violence and instability from armed groups.
In addition, Harris announced a £793.6 million initiative to improve women’s economic empowerment in Africa, including £317.4 million from the private sector to bridge the gender digital divide. Harris further indicated how the US would support women and youth entrepreneurs from multiple African countries by establishing a Small Business Development Centre at the African Continental Free Trade Agreement Secretariat in Ghana. In addition, the US-funded West Africa Trade and Investment Hub, based in Ghana, would offer technical assistance to small business owners looking to expand their operations and reach new customers in the US and the West African sub-region.
The US is also considering the reauthorisation of its African Trade Pact, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), until 2041 to boost investment by US businesses in Africa. Under AGOA, Ghana and several African countries already enjoy duty-free access to the US market for over 1,800 products. American investment in Ghana is increasing as well. In 2022, for instance, Ghana received around 79 new investments from US companies, amounting to approximately £634.9 million.
On the issue of debt restructuring, the US announced two major initiatives to help Ghana’s current debt restructuring process. The first is the commitment to dispatch a full-time resident technical advisor to Ghana from the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Technical Assistance to assist the Ghanaian Ministry of Finance in developing and executing reforms to improve debt sustainability and support a competitive government debt market. In addition to deploying the technical advisor, the US pledged further support by allocating funding for ten specialists financed by USAID. These specialists will be embedded within the Ghanaian Ministry of Finance, providing surge support over two years.
