US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is visiting the country on the 25th and 26th of this month as part of a tour aimed at reaffirming the economic partnership between the US and Africa, particularly with Angola.
According to a statement released by the State Department and shared by the US Embassy in Angola, Antony Blinken will begin his tour on Sunday in Cape Verde, passing through Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria, culminating in Angola.
In the countries he visits, the head of US diplomacy will highlight how the US is investing in infrastructure in Africa to boost bilateral trade and create jobs at home and on the continent.
Blinken, according to the document, will share the United States’ desire to help Africa compete in the global market and show how this giant has accelerated the partnership since the US-Africa Leaders’ Summit in key areas, including climate, food and health security.
During the tour, security partnerships will be promoted based on shared values, such as respect for human rights, the promotion of democracy and the expansion of the rule of law.
“He will reaffirm the US commitment to our West African coastal partners through the strategy to prevent conflict and promote stability, the partnership with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to address regional challenges, as well as its efforts to support African leadership in de-escalating tensions and adopting diplomatic solutions to the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.”
The US-Africa Summit, held in December 2022 in Washington, had as its highlight the promotion of a new economic engagement between the parties, the reinforcement of the US commitment to the consolidation of democracy and human rights in Africa, the mitigation of the impact of Covid-19 and future pandemics, as well as the strengthening of regional and global health.
At the time, issues such as the “partnership for Agenda 2063″, the African Union’s strategic vision for the continent, the need to deepen multilateralism with Africa to meet global challenges” and the “promotion of food security and resilient food systems” were addressed.
The summit was also marked by the announcement by the United States that it was making several million dollars available to support various projects in Africa. Speaking at the close of the Economic Forum, one of the highlights of the Summit, President Joe Biden highlighted, among other funds, the 15 billion dollars in new projects on the continent to improve the lives of the population, to be made available by his country’s institutions.
In addition to this amount, he said that 500 million dollars were already available from the US International Development Finance Corporation, of which 370 million for new projects, 100 million to increase access to clean and reliable energy for millions of consumers in sub-Saharan Africa, 20 million to finance fertilizers, mainly for small farmers and women farmers, 10 million to support small and medium-sized enterprises and to help provide drinking water.