The United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, will undertake a four-nation African trip this coming week to boost infrastructure investment and trade with the continent, the State Department has announced.
Blinken will travel to Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Angola during the trip.
It comes after 17 Cabinet-level official visits last year as a follow-up to the 2022 US-Africa Leaders’ Summit in Washington.
Although no definite plans have been announced, President Joe Biden has expressed his desire to visit Africa this year.
State Department spokesperson, Matthew Miller, said Blinken’s six-day trip would highlight America’s acceleration of the ambitions of the US-Africa partnership since the summit.
“He will also emphasise our future-focused economic partnership and how the United States is investing in infrastructure in Africa to boost two-way trade, create jobs at home and on the continent and help Africa compete in the global marketplace,” Miller said.
Asked if countering China’s influence on the continent would be a major theme, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Molly Phee, said this was more of a media preoccupation.
“If China didn’t exist, we would be fully engaged in Africa,” she said. “Africa is important for its own sake, and it’s important for American interests.”
Phee mentioned major US infrastructure projects partnering with Angola and Cape Verde. She said a lot of the news coming out of Africa was negative, and Blinken’s trip would highlight the positive.
Source: VOA
