On July 2, Barack Obama sat down with AllAfrica.com to discuss his upcoming trip to Ghana on July 10. The Ghana visit will kick off his first trip to Sub-Saharan Africa as President. Why start with Ghana? In the days leading up to his visit, Obama has made it clear that the West African nation sets a wonderful example for the rest of the continent:

“Countries that are governed well, that are stable, where the leadership recognizes that they are accountable to the people and that institutions are stronger than any one person have a track record of producing results for the people. And we want to highlight that. By traveling to Ghana, we hope to highlight the effective governance that they have in place.”

Click here to read the entire interview.

The respect is reciprocal. The country has been abuzz in the days leading up to the visit. Many Ghanaians are printing Obama t-shirts and stocking miniature American flags. ”The fact that his father is African and he picked us makes us special,” said Adrian Landry, general manager of a beach hotel in the capital, Accra. “He is endorsing our strong democracy in Ghana. This is historic.”

Click here to read more about Obama’s visit to Ghana on CNN.com.

Watch the President’s entire interview with AllAfrica.com

Filed under: Ghana, Humanitarian Aid