Joe Biden wants to stand out from Donald Trump in relations with Africa
Joe Biden intends to display "mutual respect" with African countries.
AP / Carolyn Kaster
Text by: RFI Follow
4 min
The foreign policy of the future administration of Joe Biden is not yet defined.
Joe Biden has remained rather cautious about the foreign policy that his administration wishes to pursue.
But his team is showing positive signals for a rapprochement with the African continent.
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Joe Biden's team intends to display “
mutual respect
” towards Africa and show its “
commitment
” to issues of democracy, security and the economy.
Joe Biden wants to stand out from Donald Trump, who has called his African partners “
shitty countries
” and who has never been to Africa.
Joe Biden promises to organize a summit of African heads of state, as Barack Obama had already done in 2014. Enough to forge concrete links with his African counterparts.
It must be said that Joe Biden benefits from the expertise of big names in American diplomacy, such as diplomat Nicolas Burns or Susan Rice, the former African charge d'affaires under Bill Clinton.
"
We do not expect a dramatic change
," however tempers an African diplomat.
"
We could expect, continues this source, a renewal of AGOA
", the trade program that allows African countries to export products to the United States without being taxed.
The big stake remains the American military presence in the Sahel.
Joe Biden's side have given no indication of their intentions.
Finally, we should see a radical change in migration issues.
Joe Biden intends to put an end to the "
inhuman immigration policy
" led by Donald Trump.
The elected president promises, for example, to cancel the “travel ban”, the travel restrictions that affect Nigerian, Sudanese and Somali citizens.
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To read also: Biden president: the crowning of a long career in the service of the United States
Gabonese Ali Bongo Ondimba was the first French-speaking African head of state to react on social networks.
In a tweet, he congratulated Joe Biden on his election as the 46th President of the United States of America.
On behalf of the # Gabon-ais people, I extend my warmest congratulations to @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris on their election to the Presidency of the #United States.
Our countries have always been staunch allies.
The close relationship built over decades will grow even stronger in the future.
Ali Bongo Ondimba (@PresidentABO) November 7, 2020
From Addis Ababa, Ethiopian Prime Minister and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Abiy Ahmed also congratulated Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in a tweet.
“
Ethiopia looks forward to working closely with you,
” he said.
My congratulations to US President-Elect @JoeBiden and Vice President-Elect @KamalaHarris on your historic # Election2020 win.
#Ethiopia looks forward to working closely with you.
Abiy Ahmed Ali 🇪🇹 (@AbiyAhmedAli) November 7, 2020
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Joe biden
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