(Washington) The United States on Tuesday denounced the “destabilizing” role of China and Russia in Africa, rolling out the red carpet in Washington for dozens of African leaders and pledging billions of dollars in aid to shown to regain influence on the continent.
Nearly fifty African leaders were invited to this summit, the second of its kind after the one organized in 2014 under the presidency of Barack Obama, and which US President Joe Biden intends to use to reposition his country on the continent. .
Speaking at a security forum attended by several African leaders, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin immediately noted that “China is expanding its footprint on the continent daily […] and this could have a destabilizing effect if it is not already the case”.
As for Russia, it “continues to send cheap weapons and mercenaries” across the continent, he said.
“The combination of these activities of these two countries, I think it deserves attention. And it is clear that their influence could be destabilizing,” the Pentagon chief continued.
” Partnership “
In this charm offensive by the United States to seduce sometimes reluctant African partners, the United States has put its hand in the wallet, promising to devote “55 billion dollars to Africa over three years”, according to the White House. .
The Biden administration must distill the details throughout this three-day summit in the capital. On Tuesday, she announced the granting of up to $4 billion by 2025 for the hiring and training of healthcare workers in Africa, drawing lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic.
PHOTO EVELYN HOCKSTEIN, ASSOCIATED PRESS
In this charm offensive to seduce sometimes reluctant African partners, the United States has put its hand in the wallet, promising to devote “55 billion dollars to Africa over three years”, according to the White House.
The first day of the summit also touched on the subject of space exploration with the signing by Nigeria and Rwanda of the Artemis agreements under the impetus of the United States. They are the first African countries to do so.
President Biden is due to speak Wednesday and Thursday before the summit.
In particular, he will plead in favor of an increased role for Africa on the international scene, with a seat on the UN Security Council, and for the African Union to be formally represented in the G20.
During a forum organized on the sidelines of the summit with the African diaspora in the United States, the head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken assured Tuesday morning that the new strategy of the United States was summed up in a single word: “partnership”.
During a forum organized on the sidelines of the summit with the African diaspora in the United States, the head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken assured Tuesday that the new strategy of the United States can be summed up in one word: “Partnership”.
All of this, “recognizing that we cannot resolve our shared priorities alone,” he said.
However, the United States is careful not to speak of open competition with China on the continent.
Beijing is the world’s largest creditor to poor and developing countries and invests heavily in the African continent, which is rich in natural resources.
In addition to investments, climate change, food insecurity – aggravated by the war in Ukraine – or even trade relations and good governance are at the center of the meeting.
Regional conflicts
The summit and, on the sidelines, its cohort of bilaterals, is also an opportunity to address a series of conflicts, from Ethiopia to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The US Secretary of State spoke on Tuesday with Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi, whose capital Kinshasa has been hit by floods in the past 24 hours, killing more than 100 people, promising to help resolve the conflict in the region. east of the country in the face of the M23 rebellion.
Mr. Tshisekedi said that his country was “the victim of a disguised aggression by Rwanda via the M23 movement”, which “seriously destabilizes this part of our country” and requested “the support and pressure of the United States so that we put an end to it”.
The DRC accuses Rwanda of supporting the M23, which Kigali denies. Rwandan President Paul Kagame is also in Washington.
Ethiopia was also on the agenda in the presence of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, whose first trip to Washington since the signing of a peace agreement on November 2 between the Ethiopian federal government and the rebels Tigrayans, intended to end two years of devastating conflict.
“We are ahead, I think, of a historic moment for the country,” said Mr. Blinken when receiving the Ethiopian leader.
In the morning, American officials met with Somali President Hassan Cheikh Mohamoud, welcoming his action in the fight against radical Islamists Shebab.
The latter, however, noted that “the Shebab can only be defeated militarily. It is also important to mobilize society”.
On the sidelines of the summit, the United States also announced new humanitarian aid of approximately $411 million for Somalia, threatened by famine due to an ongoing drought.