Blinken sets sights on sub-Saharan Africa
Washington – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit sub-Saharan Africa for the first time in 10 months, the State Department said yesterday, redirecting his focus as rivals Russia and China seek gains there.
After four frenetic tours of the Middle East since war broke out on 7 October with a Hamas attack on Israel, Blinken will visit Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Angola and Cape Verde starting on Monday.
Blinken will discuss economic growth and “advance security partnerships based on shared values such as respect for human rights, promotion of democracy and expansion of the rule of law”, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
On Blinken’s last visit to sub-Saharan Africa, he became the highest-ranking US official yet to visit Niger, hoping to champion the fragile democracy, also a frontline country in the fight against jihadists in the Sahel.
Just four months later, the military deposed the elected president Mohamed Bazoum. Niger’s army-installed prime minister Ali Lamine Zeine this week visited Russia for talks on boosting military cooperation.
Russia, through its powerful Wagner mercenary group, has also been active in Mali, the Central African Republic and allegedly Burkina Faso.
Molly Phee, the top US diplomat for Africa who visited Niger in December, said the country should look at Mali’s descent since aligning with Russia. “That isn’t a model that I would want to follow. We have a demonstrated track record there that they’re well aware of, and we hope they make the right decision,” she told reporters.
Ivory Coast has been among the most outspoken countries against the Niger coup, backing sanctions and with President Alassane Ouattara initially musing about joint West African military action to restore democracy.
Blinken will also look to show Washington’s softer side, including by attending a football match in Abidjan during the Africa Cup of Nations.
In Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy and home to the headquarters of regional bloc Ecowas, he will meet President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Abuja, and also tour the bustling metropolis Lagos.
US President Joe Biden, who vowed a new interest in Africa when he welcomed African leaders to Washington in December 2022, had promised to visit in 2023 but did not do so, and a trip is seen as increasingly unlikely this year as he focuses on reelection.
Blinken will arrive in Ivory Coast on Monday, days after a visit by China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi. While US-China tensions have eased, Washington considers Beijing its top long-term rival and has pitched itself as a better partner for Africa than Beijing.