AFRICA ( commonwealth Union ) _ Antony Blinken visited the African nation of Niger on Thursday to provide humanitarian, economic, and security assistance, a first for a U.S. secretary of state.After a stop in Ethiopia earlier in the day, Blinken’s travel to Niger is seen by observers as an effort to strengthen U.S. relations in a region of the world where Russia and China have been vying for influence.
Blinken presented a $150 million humanitarian aid package for the Sahel region of west and central Africa, which includes Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, and Niger, at a press conference with his Niger counterpart.Blinken praised Niger and other countries in the area for their dedication to democratic ideals as he unveiled the aid package. In response to a wide range of dangers and challenges, he stated that the United States is “committed to continue to invest in the resilience of democracies.”
Blinken also spoke about initiatives to combat the country’s food shortages, which he noted had been made worse by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. When Blinken was questioned about Poland’s plan to send MiG-29 fighter fighters to Ukraine to aid in its defence operations, the war in Ukraine came up again. The U.S. has so far refused Ukraine’s request for more sophisticated air power to fight the Russian attack.
According to Blinken, Poland made this decision in its sovereign capacity, and “various nations are doing different things” to support Ukraine in defending itself against Russian aggression. He asserted that the U.S. has always put Ukraine’s requirements first and that it would be a mistake to concentrate on any certain weaponry system at any given time.
According to Blinken, it’s crucial that the Ukrainians possess the appropriate weaponry, understand how to use it, and integrate it into a well-thought-out strategy.
The expanding impact of the Russian mercenary Wagner Group was another topic of inquiry for the secretary of state. Following failed attempts by the United States and France to stop terrorist and extremist group attacks in the area, many countries in the region have turned to Russia and the Wagner Group for security help.
