U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken opened his three-nation tour of the African continent with an acknowledgement that the world’s democracies are facing the twin challenges of misinformation and corruption.
“The United States is hardly immune from this challenge,” Blinken said at the start of a roundtable discussion with civil society groups Wednesday in Nairobi, Kenya. “We’ve seen how fragile our own democracy can be.”
The top U.S. diplomat told the participants he wanted to hear their perspectives on democratic challenges and their ideas on solving them, as well as “how the United States can be helpful” to these efforts.
The State Department said Blinken will hold talks with President Uhuru Kenyatta and Foreign Affairs Ambassador Raychelle Omamo to discuss the partnerships between their governments with respect to “ending the COVID pandemic and investing in health, addressing the climate crisis, building a more inclusive global economy, and strengthening democracy and respect for human rights.”
Blinken will also address specific regional issues such as ending the violence in Ethiopia, combating terrorism in Somalia and reviving Sudan’s transition to a civilian government, the State Department said Tuesday.
Kenya, a member of the United Nations Security Council, is an important player in issues related to regional countries including Ethiopia, Sudan and Somalia.
Blinken’s upcoming visit to Kenya is part of a three-nation tour to Africa that also includes trips to Nigeria and Senegal. His trip is partially aimed at raising America’s profile as a key player in the region as it competes with China.
Despite its large contributions of money and vaccines to contain the coronavirus and other infectious diseases, the United States has had little success in gaining influence in the region.
Some information for this report came from the Associated Press.
