Top US Diplomats Heads to Africa
The Citizen
The US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will visit Addis Ababa on March 14 and 15 to hold talks with the Ethiopian government and leaders of the Tigrayan forces to discuss the fragile peace process that has ended the two-year conflict, He will also meet with AU Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki “to discuss shared global and regional priorities and follow up on commitments from the U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit regarding food security, climate and a just energy transition, the African diaspora, and global health, the State Department said in a statement.
On March 16, Blinken will make the first visit by a U.S. Secretary of State to Niger, where he will discuss security cooperation in the Sahel region with President Mohamed Bazoum and Foreign Minister Hassoumi Massaoudou in Niamey.
Meanwhile , US Vice President Kamala Harris will visit Zambia as part of an African tour that will take her to Ghana and Tanzania scheduled for 25 March to 3 April. She will become the 18th and most senior American official to visit Africa this year.
Harris could set the stage for the eventual promised arrival of President Joe Biden, a vow he made at the US Africa Leaders’ Summit in Washington DC in December.
So far, first lady Jill Biden’s visited Namibia and Kenya that was regarded as the most high profile followed by US Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen who has toured Senegal, South Africa, and Zambia last month.
Fifteen African countries were UN 32 member states that abstained from voting on a General Assembly resolution calling for Russia to pull out its troops from Ukraine last month.
Mali and Eritrea are the two African countries out of seven that voted in support of Russia from a continent contributing 54 members in the 193-member bloc.
Mali and Eritrea were not at the US Africa Leaders’ Summit. For Mali, it was because of its suspension from the AU for “unconstitutional change of governance” while Eritrea does not have diplomatic ties with the US. Since then, Mali has become closer to Russia and pushed France back.