Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara hosted the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday, January 23 as he commences a four-nation Africa tour.
Blinken arrived Ivory Coast on Monday, the second stop for the tour after his visit to Cape Verde.
He will also be visiting Nigeria and Angola to foster the ten-year U.S. Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability.
Blinkin Pledges $45 million for Security
The U.S Secretary of State pledged $45 million to help address security challenges in West Africa, where insurgencies have escalated in recent years.
The additional funding will supplement $300 million earlier invested in coastal West Africa.
“We appreciate particularly the leadership shown by Cote d’Ivoire encountering extremism and violence. We’re announcing $45 billion in new funding, through the U.S. strategy to prevent conflict and promote stability for coastal West African states. With this new investment, the United States will have invested in nearly $300 billion just over the past two years in stability focused assistance in coastal West Africa.”
“And we’re also working to bolster Cote d’Ivoire security capacity. There’s been a increase in training multiplied 15 times training equipment for the military just over the last year. We’re expanding civilian forces investment as well,” Blinken said.
President Ouattara appreciated the U.S for the continual support in key areas, including including health, security, and intelligence.
Blinken’s next destination is Nigeria, from where he will fly to Angola. He will end the tour across the four African Countries on January 26, 2023.