The US President arrived in Dakar on Wednesday night at the start of a weeklong trip that will also take him to South Africa and Tanzania.

President Barack Obama of the United States of America yesterday, June 26, 2013, arrived in the Senegalese capital, Dakar, at the start of a three-day visit, his first to a Francophone African nation, Radio France Internationale, RFI, reported. The weeklong African tour will also take him to South Africa and Tanzania.

The trip coincides with the visit of his predecessor, George W. Bush, who is promoting his charity’s activities on the continent. Obama will today, Thursday June 27, 2013, meet President Macky Sall, make an address from the Supreme Court and visit the former slave post island of Goree. Accompanied by a 600-strong delegation, the U.S. President arrives in South Africa on Saturday, June 29, 2013 where he will meet the nation's leaders and visit Robben Island where former President Nelson Mandela spent most of his imprisonment.

Obama will conclude his second African trip in Tanzania on July 1 and 2, 2013 where his wife, Michelle Obama and her predecessor, Laura Bush, will attend the African First Ladies Summit on July 2, CNN said. Barack Obama’s trip aims to bolster investment opportunities for U.S. businesses, address development issues such as food security and health, and promote democracy, the Associated Press news agency said.

It comes as China aggressively engages the continent, pouring in billions of dollars for major infrastructure projects, having replaced the U.S. in 2009 as Africa’s largest trading partner. According to The Globe and Mail newspaper of South Africa, President Barack Obama’s visit has been prompted by America’s fear of falling behind China in the scramble for African influence. In his first term, Obama spent less than a day in Sub-Saharan Africa, making only a brief 20-hour stopover in Ghana in 2009.