US State Department has announced Secretary Antony Blinken will travel to Cabo Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, and Angola between January 21-26, 2024.
In a statement on January 18, the State Department said Blinken will highlight how the United States has accelerated its partnership with Africa partnership since the US-Africa Leaders Summit in climate, food, and health security.
“He will also emphasize 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,” the statement said.
Additionally, the State Department said Blinken will advance security partnerships based on shared values such as respect for human rights, promotion of democracy, and expansion of the rule of law.
“He will reaffirm US commitment to our coastal West African partners through the Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability, US partnership with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to address regional challenges, and U.S. efforts to support African leadership in de-escalating tensions and adopting diplomatic solutions to the conflict in the eastern DRC,” the statement added.
The visit was announced on the day Blinken’s Chinese counterpart Wang Yi was ending his annual African tour, further manifesting the US-China rivalry in Africa.
Between January 13-18, Wang Yi visited Egypt, Tunisia, Togo and Côte d’Ivoire for the annual visit to Africa, the 34th consecutive Chinese foreign ministers’ annual first overseas visit.
China Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning, said the purpose of Wang Yi’s visit was to implement the follow-ups of the China-Africa Leaders’ Dialogue, compare notes with the African side on the 2024 FOCAC, carry forward the traditional China-Africa friendship and consolidate the momentum of China-Africa solidarity and cooperation.
“At the China-Africa Leaders’ Dialogue last year, President Xi Jinping made three proposals to support Africa’s industrialization, agricultural modernization and talent development, which were well-received by Africa. This year, FOCAC will meet again. Egypt, Tunisia, Togo and Côte d’Ivoire are all China’s friendly cooperation partners,” Mao said.
During his trip, Wang Yi pushed for deeper bilateral relations with China, reiterating one-China policy and infrastructure development cooperation.
Wang Yi concluded his African tour in Ivory Coast, where Blinken will also visit.
Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara said relations between both nations were “strong,” saying their meeting which lasted for over an hour will “benefit not only the Ivory Coast.”
Of course, the U.S. engagement in Lobito corridor in telecommunication and energy — mainly green energy — is an evidence of that support because infrastructures like those will help the country not only in Angola but also the whole African continent
President João Lourenço
Blinken will travel to Angola after US President Joe Biden held talks with President João Lourenço in November 30, 2023.
Terming Angola as their most important ally in Africa, President Biden said he was happy with the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, and excited to build the Lobito economic corridor, which is seen as Washington’s anwer to Beijing Belt and Road Initiative.
“Together, we’ll be mobilizing more than a million dollar — $1 billion for railway lines that extend from Angola to Zambia to the DRC, and ultimately to the Indian Ocean, connecting the continent for the first time from east to west,” Biden said in the joint press briefing, adding that, “This first-of-its kind project is the biggest U.S. rail investment in Africa ever, one that’s going to create jobs and connect markets for generations to come”.
On his part, President Lourenço said Angola is open to having cooperation in the fields of economy, defence and security, transportation, energy, telecommunication, agriculture, and the use of space for peaceful purposes.
“Of course, the U.S. engagement in Lobito corridor in telecommunication and energy — mainly green energy — is an evidence of that support because infrastructures like those will help the country not only in Angola but also the whole African continent,” he said.
The Chinese are closely monitoring the Lobito corridor, given their interest in resources in the DRC.
With the visits happening in the first month of the year, it sets the tempo for the intense competition between the two leading economic powers for the influence in Africa and its resources.
