US Secretary of State Antony Blinken began his first tour of the African continent on November 15, 2021, where he intends to promote President Joe Biden’s priorities: promoting democracy, the fight against climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic . In the early hours of his trip, of which Kenya was the first stop, the American official notably stressed that his country had given 50 million doses of vaccines against the disease to the continent. “We did this without political conditions”, said Antony Blinken. “It’s about saving lives.”
This African tour is above all an opportunity for Washington to assert itself once again as a strategic ally of the continent, especially vis-à-vis China. In a speech on US African policy at the headquarters of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Abuja, the political capital of Nigeria, Antony Blinken made no explicit mention of the China but Beijing, with whom the subjects of tension are multiple, was at the heart of his remarks.
“I want to be clear: the United States does not want to limit your partnerships with other countries”, the US Secretary of State said on November 19. “We want to further strengthen our partnerships. We don’t want you to make a choice. We want to give you choices.” And the American diplomat added : “Our approach will be sustainable, transparent, and driven by values.”
US President Joe Biden has pledged actions to promote American values globally in the face of the growing influence of China, which is increasing investments on the continent and being less observant of political practices. However, Africa is the last continent visited by the US foreign minister, although President Biden has pledged to pay particular attention to Africa, setting himself apart from his predecessor Donald Trump, whose administration had nevertheless made a commitment to pay particular attention to Africa. the same caveats for China.
“We will do things differently”, further promised the secretary of state who also announced in Abuja holding a summit with African leaders. “President Biden intends to host a summit with American and African officials to pursue a high-level diplomatic policy (…) which will transform relations and make effective cooperation possible”, said Antony Blinken. According to him, the Biden administration “firmly believes that it is time to stop treating Africa as a subject of geopolitics, and to start treating it as the major geopolitical actor that it has become”.
Allies of the United States, France, Great Britain and Japan regularly organize summits with African leaders. This US initiative comes as China holds its summit in November with Africa in Senegal, a West African country where Antony Blinken will end his tour on November 20, 2021.
In Nairobi, at the start of his journey, Antony Blinken called for African solutions to the continent’s crises, especially the war raging in Ethiopia. The United States and Kenya have thus pushed for a ceasefire in Ethiopia, reaffirming their hope for a positive conclusion to the intense diplomatic efforts deployed for a negotiated solution to the conflict between the government and the Tigray rebels in the north of the country. . Antony Blinken met President Uhuru Kenyatta who is actively involved in regional mediation attempts on the Ethiopian conflict. The Kenyan leader visited Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital on November 14, as the war, which has lasted for more than a year, has escalated in recent weeks. Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo is also leading mediation on behalf of the African Union (AU). The emissaries of the AU and the United States were back on November 18 in Ethiopia, in a new effort to obtain a ceasefire between the belligerents.
In addition to Ethiopia, the situations in Somalia and Sudan were discussed with Kenyan officials. Antony Blinken said Sudan will regain the support of the international community if the “legitimacy” of his government – overthrown by a military coup on October 25 – is restored.
Still in Nairobi, he also called on his host country, a long-time ally, to guarantee free elections next year. The Secretary of State, who started his talks in Kenya with a meeting with Kenyan civil society officials, urged them to remain vigilant in the face of growing threats to democracy in the run-up to the 2022 presidential election. Elections in this country are regularly marked by deadly violence. “We have witnessed over the past decade what some call a democratic recession”, he said, believing that the United States has also been able to observe recently that its democracy “can be fragile”.
After Kenya, the US Secretary of State went to Nigeria where respect for human rights is also on the agenda. First economy of sub-Saharan Africa which concentrates 20% of the population of this region, Nigeria is a key player on the continent for American administrations. These have all courted Nigerian leaders since the reestablishment of civil power in 1999.
But for a year, the American discourse towards Nigeria has become firmer, especially in the face of the bloody repression of a vast protest movement against police violence. Then candidate, Joe Biden had expressed his solidarity with the demonstrators and urged President Muhammadu Buhari to curb the response of the security forces.
In Nigeria and Senegal, its next and last African step, Americans are also betting on the economy and entrepreneurs: those in the digital sector in the continent’s largest economy and women who have embarked on entrepreneurship in the only country. French speaking of Antony Blinken’s tour.