U.S Secretary of State, Antony Blinken has praised the Ivory Coast for choosing a less militarised approach to security.
Ivory Coast was the second stop of Blinken’s four-nation tour of Africa taking him to Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Angola from January 21-26, 2024.
The purpose of the trip is to discuss U.S.-African partnerships over trade, climate, infrastructure, health, security and other issues.
It follows a summit in Washington with African leaders in December 2022.
The trip is also Blinken’s first to sub-Saharan Africa in 10 months.
On his last visit to the region, he travelled to Niger to bolster elected President Mohamed Bazoum. Four months later, the army deposed Bazoum.
On Monday, he stopped in Cape Verde, a long-standing partner of the U.S.
He arrived in Ivory Coast’s financial capital, Abidjan on Monday evening.
Blinken, who has been occupied by the Middle East crisis, has sought to showcase a softer side during his trip.
On Monday, he attended a football match in the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations between Ivory Coast and Equatorial Guinea, when his hosts gifted him an Ivorian orange jersey bearing his name.
He met President Alassane Ouattara on Tuesday morning.
In the capital Abidjan, the top United States diplomat hailed the Ivory Coast’s stand against last year’s coup in Niger and its approach of “building security together” by investing economically to combat rebel violence in northern areas bordering Mali and Burkina Faso.
“I have to applaud the approach that’s been taken by Cote d’Ivoire – working with communities, listening to communities, making sure that their security forces understand the needs, the concerns of communities,” Blinken said alongside the Ivory Coast’s President Alassane Ouattara.
He noted, “I think that can serve as a very powerful model for other countries.”
The Ivory Coast has not experienced a major armed attack in two years, despite being bordered by Sahel countries fighting insecurity.
Blinken nonetheless promised to boost cooperation on the ground with the Ivory Coast, largely the training of security forces.
He said that the U.S would provide an additional $45m to West African nations as part of a plan to battle instability, bringing total funding under the year-old programme to nearly $300m.
He said, We spent a lot of time discussing mutual security challenges. We appreciate Ivory Coast’s leadership in the fight against extremism and violence.”
The funding will supplement $300 million the U.S. has already invested in coastal West Africa over the past two years.
“We have increased military training by 15 times and are investing in civil protection in Ivory Coast,” Blinken added.
Ouattara Express Appreciation For The U.S Assistance
Ouattara, a veteran leader who has won U.S praise for consolidating democracy, expressed appreciation for the U.S assistance and voiced alarm over a spate of coups in West Africa.
Ouattara said that security in the region remained a challenge.
“That is why we do appreciate the USA for their support in the area of intelligence and the fight against terrorism,” he said.
“Like the United States, we are very committed to democracy and justice,” he averred, promising that his government would do “everything possible to improve people’s day-to-day lives.”
Blinken’s next stop is Abuja to see Nigerian President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who was elected last year on a platform of economic reforms.
Both West African nations have largely stood by the U.S – as has another key partner, Kenya – despite unease in much of the continent over the Western focus on arming Ukraine and, more recently, US support for Israel’s war with Hamas.
On this trip, Blinken will visit another Southern African country – Angola, which is playing a vital role in mediation to end unrest in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.
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