Nigeria and Ivory Coast, key West African allies to the United States, have largely stood by Washington despite unease in much of the continent over the Western focus on arming Ukraine and, more recently, support for Israel amid ongoing war with Hamas militants in the Middle East.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, and Ivory Coast — as well as Kenya in East Africa — joined the United States in a United Nations vote in 2022 to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Their stance stands in contrast with another heavyweight, South Africa, which the U.S. accused of allowing arms shipments to Russia. Relations between Pretoria and Washington were again dented recently after the southern African powerhouse brought a genocide case against Israel before the International Court of Justice.
Blinken’s itinerary does not include a trip to South Africa, however, he will visit Angola which has transitioned from war to democracy and played a vital role mediating to end unrest in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC.
Blinken has sought to showcase a softer side during his trip.
On Monday, the U.S. secretary stopped in Cape Verde, Washington’s long-standing partner. He later travelled to Ivory Coast where he attended a critical football game in the Africa Cup of Nations between the Ivorians and Equatorial Guinea.
During his stop in Cape Verde, Blinken visited a port in the nation’s capital, Praia, that was expanded through U.S. assistance.
While in Praia, Blinken said Washington was "all in" for Africa.
"We see Africa as an essential, critical, central part of our future," he added.
Despite Blinken’s sentiments, U.S. President Joe Biden failed to live up to a promise made to African leaders who visited Washington in late 2022, where he committed to travel to the continent in 2023.
Nigeria’s Tinubu met Biden in September on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in India, but Blinken's visit marks the most extensive high-level U.S. interaction with him.
The trip to the continent by the U.S. secretary, marks his first to sub-Saharan Africa in 10 months. On his last visit to the region, Blinken travelled to Niger to bolster the elected president, Mohamed Bazoum.
Four months later, Nigerien military officials deposed Bazoum.
The coup leaders threw out troops from former colonial power France but have allowed the presence of some 1,000 U.S. troops, who use Niger’s desert as a base for drones in the fight against jihadists.
Niger’s governing junta have also moved closer to Russia, whose Wagner mercenaries are already involved in Mali, Central African Republic and allegedly, Burkina Faso.
Ivory Coast and Nigeria, alongside other nations that are part of the West African regional ECOWAS bloc, have been outspoken in opposing Niger’s coup, with Ouattara musing about the possibility of military intervention.
The Ivorian president has won praise for his own efforts to stop the spread of insurgency to the northern regions of his nation, including economic support to give opportunities to young people.
The approach is in line with that of the Biden administration, which has called for a less military-first approach to the Sahel region after a decade of warfare backed by France to hunt down jihadists.
Nigeria’s Tinubu met Biden in September on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in India, but Blinken's visit marks the most extensive high-level US interaction with him.
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