Blinken upon his arrival in the capital of Angola (Reuters)

From Luanda, the capital of Angola, which has close relations with Russia, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken ended his week-long African tour among several countries that the United States considers a model of democratic values.

After Russia marketed itself in the region as a power that did not have colonies in Africa and did not participate in the slave trade, the United States began to play on the rhetoric of freedom, spreading democracy and human rights, the war on terrorism, and the necessity of stability in the African region.

The tour of the leader of American diplomacy - which came against the backdrop of intense international competition on this continent and severe tensions in the Middle East - carried messages and implications of concern for Africa and the future of its wealth, and work to fill the military vacuum caused by the withdrawal of French forces from the Sahel region.

The visit included 4 democratic countries located on the Atlantic Ocean: Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Angola, whose importance varies between wealth, influence and strategic location.

US President Joe Biden had committed at the African-American Summit at the end of 2022 to visit the continent in 2023 and provide a lot of support, but he did not fulfill his promise, and the Secretary of State’s visit comes as it carries many agendas in an effort to embody the president’s promises.

Nigerian President Bola Ahmed receives Blinken in the capital, Abuja (Anatolia)

Partnership and solidarity

The first message that Blinken wanted to deliver to Africa was that the United States sought to enter into an economic partnership with the continent.

The West African region is considered a place rich in multiple resources, such as uranium, gold, gas and oil. Its total population is 350 million people, and its total area is 5 million square kilometers, or 17% of the total area of ​​the continent. It is a promising region for investments, and is visited by multinational international companies.

The United States does not want China to remain alone in investments in the West African region, and Beijing has built many infrastructure facilities in the region and provided generous loans to governments in order to overcome budget deficits.

Washington began to embody Beijing's approach to focusing on work in the field of infrastructure, and recently concluded a partnership to build an expansion of the port of Praia in the capital of Cape Verde for $150 million. Blinken toured this facility that his country had completed, and without ambiguity he said that Washington wants to work with Africa and partner with it. In supporting her choices.

In an interview with Radio France Internationale, Blinken said that Africa is a place for everyone, and the United States is working to attract investments to the continent without burdening it with debt, in reference to China, which is working to support investments through extensive loans.

In support of Blinken's visit, the US Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, is on a tour in West Africa that includes 3 countries: Guinea Bissau, Sierra Leone, and Liberia, which participated in the inauguration ceremony of its new president, Joseph Boakai.

Influence and competition

In light of the disappearance of French influence in West Africa, the economic presence of China, and the growing military presence of Russia, the United States is seeking to expand its presence on the continent through arms agendas and military and security cooperation.

Academic professor of political science and international relations, Didi Ould Salek, believes that the United States, as the first dominant power - which owns 700 military bases in the world - realizes that continuing unilateralism depends on paying attention to the African continent.

Ould Salek believes - in his statement to Al Jazeera Net - that Africa will constitute the locomotive of development in the world over the next three decades, as it contains 70% of the world’s resources that have not been exploited, and a human force estimated at 1.4 billion people from the population, of whom youth constitute a greater percentage. 60% and divided among 54 countries.

Academic Ould Salek adds that most of these countries still need development and reconstruction, and provide opportunities for actors through various partnerships.

The visit of the leader of American diplomacy came one week after the visit of the Chinese Foreign Minister to the region, during which he visited Egypt, Tunisia, Ivory Coast and Togo.

China has strong economic partnerships with African countries, especially in Angola, Ivory Coast, Niger, and Mauritania.

International navigation

It is noteworthy that the four countries that Blinken chose in his tour all overlook the Atlantic Ocean and have vast water borders.

Angola, Nigeria and Ivory Coast are located on the Gulf of Guinea, which constitutes a vital corridor for international maritime routes, and incidents of kidnapping and piracy are frequent.

According to the International Maritime Bureau report issued in 2019, 70% of piracy cases in international waters occur in the Gulf of Guinea.

As the security situation on the coast deteriorated, it became a priority to secure Nigeria's coasts, which are locked in constant battles with armed groups.

In 2023, the Biden administration announced a 10-year plan to support stability for a number of countries bordering the Gulf of Guinea.

In this context, Blinken said that his visit comes to support stability and fight terrorist groups and extremist movements.

Facing the Russian tide

The United States is also seeking to fill the vacuum left by France's withdrawal from the Sahel countries that witnessed a wave of coups in the last three years, leaving the door open to Russian expansion in the region.

In the context of the Russian presence in the Sahel region, Blinken said that any place where the Russian Wagner Group is present means that it is a destination for violence, terrorism, and the plundering of resources, and insecurity increases in all places where this Russian group is active.

The United States has a large air base in the Agadez region in northern Niger, which it spent $100 million on establishing, and which includes a thousand American soldiers.

The United States sent positive messages to the ruling military junta in Niger, saying it was ready to resume economic aid if the coup leaders presented an acceptable timetable for their term in power.

Although the military coup that overthrew elected President Mohamed Bazoum did not disturb the relationship between Niamey and Washington, the ruling military council announced that it would review the conditions for the military presence on the territory of its country.

According to the African press, one of the goals of Blinken's tour is to consolidate relations with stable West African countries in preparation for establishing military bases that will reduce dependence on the Agadez base.

Source: Al Jazeera