Mon 15 November 2021:
The US secretary of state will begin his first official visit to sub-Saharan Africa on Monday to underscore “the depth and breadth” of the country’s relationships with African partners.
According to The US State Department, the top diplomat will kick off his first official trip to Africa from November 15-20, with Kenya being the first stop.
According to the US State Department, Antony Blinken “will advance U.S.-Africa collaboration on shared global priorities, including ending the COVID-19 pandemic and building back to a more inclusive global economy, combatting the climate crisis, revitalizing our democracies, and advancing peace and security.”
In Nairobi, Blinken will also “advance US-Kenyan cooperation on ending COVID-19, improving clean energy access, and protecting the environment”, the state department said.
He will then travel to Abuja, where he will meet with Nigerian Prime Minister Muhammadu Buhari and deliver a speech on US-Africa policy.
The visit comes as the US envoy for the Horn of Africa has been shuttling between the Kenyan capital and Addis Ababa, where he has been scrambling with African Union officials to hammer out a ceasefire agreement between Ethiopia’s government, led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
The fighting, which erupted last November when the government deployed troops to the Tigray region, has escalated in recent weeks, with the TPLF joining a coalition of rebel groups threatening to march on the capital. Abiy’s government responded by declaring a state of emergency that has seen a wave of arrests.
Upon taking office in January, some observers hoped the Biden administration would put a new emphasis on sub-Saharan Africa in US foreign policy. Biden’s choice to make a virtual address at the 2021 African Union summit in February in his first speech to an international organisation as president further bolstered that hope.
That came after four years of former US President Donald Trump, who despite taking late actions in his administration to counter China’s vast economic influence on the continent, also repeatedly alienated many Africans, referring to African nations as “s***hole countries” and imposing a travel ban on Muslim-majority countries that disproportionately affected the continent.
Fresh strategy
Meanwhile, Foreign Policy magazine reported in early October that the administration plans to introduce in the coming months a rejuvenated strategy towards the continent.
The administration is working to “devise a fresh strategy for US engagement with Africa”, the magazine reported, that would attempt to weave together “Biden’s priorities on democracy and human rights, counterterrorism objectives, and countering Russia and China’s growing influence on the continent”.
Blinken will end the five-day trip in Dakar, where he will meet with Senegalese President Macky Sall, who will take over the chairmanship of the African Union in 2022.
Regional security developments in Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan will be addressed, among other issues.
The trip will be followed by visits to Nigeria and Senegal, and end on Saturday.
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