(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . VP Kamala Harris winds up her Africa trip in Zambia, where she is 'welcomed back' [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-04-01 President Hichilema posted a tweet with a video montage of Harris’ visit. The White House has posted a summary of their meeting and of the joint press conference: Readout of Vice President Kamala Harris’s Meeting with President Hakainde Hichilema of Zambia Vice President Harris announced the United States and Zambia will sign a Commercial Development Memorandum of Understanding as a follow-up to their commitment to boost commercial engagement during their September 22, 2021 bilateral meeting in Washington, DC. The Vice President also affirmed the United States’ commitment to Zambia’s economic revitalization and welcomed President Hichilema’s economic reform agenda. She assured President Hichilema that the United States considers the finalization of Zambia’s debt treatment a top priority, and that U.S. officials are calling on all bilateral official creditors to provide a meaningful debt reduction for Zambia. The two leaders also discussed cooperation at the United Nations and through the Southern African Development Community, including on insecurity in the region. Remarks by Vice President Harris and President Hichilema of Zambia in Joint Press Conference Hichilema commented: Zambia has a clear focus on what we want to do. We were elected on a platform of delivering a functioning economy. Reconstructing the economy is our critical agenda. Because we know when we do that, we’ll be able to take care of the needs of our people: education for the young, health and stability for our people; looking aft- — looking after the old, looking after those that live with disabilities. The list goes on. So priority for us, Vice President Harris, as a country, now is to rebuild our economy. (Inaudible), the environment that will allow us to support increased investment, trade, and the like. What is keeping us down for now, Vice President, is the debt overhang. We carry a debt burden that really is making it difficult for us to continue with our restructuring process of the economy. And it’s actually beginning to negate on the gains we’ve already made, such as in the foreign exchange market. And the earlier we resolve this matter, the better. And we ask for your support, as always, and the support of others to deal with that. Harris responded: You and I have had extensive conversations about the economy and the work that you have done. And I congratulate on behalf of being a partner with you and just observing what you have done as a leader and as President to put real measures in place to strengthen the economy in Zambia. And the work that you have done is about also implementing an economic reform agenda. We will remain a strong partner to build long-term economic growth and boost investment in Zambia. And we will continue to advocate for speedy finalization of Zan- — of Zambia’s debt treatment and the restructuring. And we have talked extensively about that. Our administration believes the international community needs to help countries such as Zambia regain their footing. So I will reiterate a call that we have made now many times for all bilateral official creditors to provide a meaningful debt reduction for Zambia. Most of Zambia’s debt is held by China, and international news agencies have focused on our government’s attempts to play “catch-up” in regards to the Chinese (and Russian) influence on the continent. Landry Signé, Senior Fellow on Global Economy and Development, Africa Growth Initiative at the Brookings Institution, wrote an in-depth analysis of these issues prior to the Harris trip, suggesting U.S. priorities for each of the countries she has visited. VP Kamala Harris’ visit to Africa: Delivering on US commitments or countering China and Russia? AfricaNews covered the visit in this video clip, and focused on the discussion around debt reduction: x YouTube Video This Voice of America broadcast explored Harris’ link to Zambia through her grandfather: x YouTube Video Harris tweeted a picture of herself as a child during her Zambia visit: x How it started: How it’s going: pic.twitter.com/KVIM3t5qFo — Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) March 31, 2023 Her Zambia connection was reflected in local news headlines. x Local headlines in Zambia this morning about @VP visit. pic.twitter.com/gymqZLL0Rs — Annie Linskey (@AnnieLinskey) April 1, 2023 I hope that this trip signals a continuing commitment to Africa from the Biden-Harris administration, who are more than likely not going to get much, if any support from Republicans in Congress. One more reason for us to ensure they are re-elected, and a bunch of those Republicans aren’t. Please join me in the comments section below for more on her trip. 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