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Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken touched down on a remote African island chain on Monday, kicking off a four-nation swing through the continent intended to show the Biden administration\u2019s continued interest in Africa amid major conflicts in the Middle East and Europe.<\/p>\n
A cool Atlantic breeze blew across the dusty port in Praia, Cape Verde\u2019s capital, as Mr. Blinken noted that the facility there had been expanded and modernized with nearly $55 million in U.S. aid, making it what he called \u201ca much stronger gateway to Africa for us and for so many other countries.\u201d That project was completed more than a decade ago, but more U.S. development funds were on the way, he said.<\/p>\n
Although his diplomacy accompanied a refueling stop en route to the continent, Mr. Blinken\u2019s visit to the tiny island more than 400 miles off Senegal\u2019s west coast helped to signal U.S. interest in Africa\u2019s welfare. Mr. Blinken praised Cape Verde as a model of democracy and stability.<\/p>\n
After Cape Verde, Mr. Blinken will travel to Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Angola. U.S. officials said he would address a range of issues on his stops, including conflict prevention and political stability after military coups in several countries in recent years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Despite their intense focus on the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Biden administration officials said they remained intent on strengthening ties with African nations, which hold vast economic potential and are a locus of great-power competition with China and Russia. Africa is expected to be home to about one quarter of the world\u2019s population by 2050.<\/p>\n
Mr. Blinken is making his fourth visit to sub-Saharan Africa as secretary of state. A parade of other top administration officials have also visited the continent over the past year, including Vice President Kamala Harris, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III and the first lady, Jill Biden.<\/p>\n
But President Biden has yet to follow through on a pledge he made in 2022 to visit the continent, raising doubts about the depth of his commitment \u2014 even though Mr. Biden said at a U.S.-Africa leaders summit in Washington in December 2022 that America was \u201call in\u201d on Africa\u2019s future.<\/p>\n
Despite the region\u2019s myriad challenges, Biden officials said Mr. Blinken intended to focus on upbeat issues like economic development and cultural ties. In Ivory Coast, Mr. Blinken, a longtime soccer player and fan, plans to attend an Africa Cup of Nations match.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
A statement from the department spokesman, Matthew Miller, cited \u201cclimate, food and health security\u201d as well as \u201cour future-focused economic partnership,\u201d including infrastructure investment and trade.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cWe think this trip will hopefully be very positive,\u201d Molly Phee, the assistant secretary of state for African affairs, said on a call with reporters last week. \u201cA lot of times the news out of Africa is negative.\u201d<\/p>\n
Frustrated by several downbeat questions about security threats and Chinese influence, she added, \u201cYou guys are bumming me out because you\u2019re not talking about any of the really fun and positive, forward-looking things we\u2019ll be doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Ms. Phee conceded that political stability and regional conflict would loom large during Mr. Blinken\u2019s stops in Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Angola. \u201cWe can never get away, though, from peace and security issues,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Africa has also required plenty of crisis management by Biden officials because of a coast-to-coast wave of military coups<\/a>, a brutal civil war in Sudan<\/a> and violent radicalism across much of its north. U.S. efforts to reverse a coup in July in Niger<\/a>, whose president remains under house arrest, and to mediate a peaceful resolution in Sudan have hit dead ends.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n A recent flare-up in tensions between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo was worrying enough that in November the White House dispatched the director of national intelligence, Avril D. Haines, Ms. Phee and other senior officials to mediate. Angola has also played a mediation role, which Mr. Blinken will discuss in its capital, Luanda.<\/p>\n