U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken on Saturday promised new investments in Senegal presenting them as a bonus for democracy in this country known for its stability, during the last leg of his African tour.
Blinken said on Saturday in the Senegalese capital that Africa can have a wide range of partnership offers, while rivalries between the United States and China are crescendoing, against the backdrop of increasing trade links between African countries and the Asian giant.
During his visit to Senegal, Blinken signed billion-dollar agreements with U.S. companies, including a technology contract for public safety services and a project to improve traffic with better roads.
He also visited the Pasteur Institute in Dakar where he promised to help Africans make their own vaccines.
“This is a simple reality. We are not going to succeed without the leadership of African governments, institutions and citizens,” Blinken said.
“The United States is committed to strengthening our partnership across the continent to the extent that it serves the interests of the people here (in Africa) and serves our own interests,” he said.
“We firmly believe that for a long time, African countries and institutions should be treated as the major geopolitical pieces that they have become,” he added.
Senegalese President Macky Sall, who hosted him Saturday at a luncheon in Dakar, has shown that “he is a strong leader for democracy,” Blinken said.
In addition, President Biden’s insistence at the recent COP climate change summit on an energy transition away from fossil fuels drew mixed reactions in the three countries Blinken visited: Kenya, Nigeria and Senegal.
He promised American support in this energy transition.
