The United States Secretary of State, Antony J. Blinken is set to embark on his first virtual trip to Africa, in which he will visit Kenya and Nigeria.
His virtual trip to the continent, which begins today, will kick off with a virtual event dubbed “Ten Questions with Tony” in which Secretary Blinken will engage the Young African Leadership Initiative (YALI) alumni.
YALI alumni will have an opportunity to engage with the U.S. State Secretary on a range of topics, including the role of youth in the future of Africa, economic development, democracy and good governance, climate change, and health.
In his trip to Kenya, Secretary Blinken will hold talks with President Uhuru Kenyatta together with Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary, Raychelle Omamo in which they will celebrate the bilateral relations that Kenya and the U.S. have had since 1963.
“Secretary Blinken will meet with President Kenyatta and Cabinet Secretary Omamo to reaffirm our strategic partnership, discuss future cooperation to promote democracy and expand trade, and explore avenues to address global challenges, including climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic. countries’ 57-year bilateral relationship,” reads the statement from US Department of States.
He will also visit Kenyan-based renewable energy companies that are a model of innovative clean energy alternatives in Africa, thanks to the U.S government.
The U.S.’ top diplomat will then highlight a U.S-donated Mobile Field Hospital to which the US government has been providing essential medical supplies through AFRICOM and Massachusetts National Guard’s State Partnership Program.
Secretary Blinken will then tour Nigeria where he will underscore shared goals of strengthening democratic governance, building lasting security, and promoting economic ties and diversification.
During his visit, Secretary Blinken will meet with Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari and Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama to reiterate the value of our bilateral relationship and discuss issues of shared importance.
“…He will underscore our shared goals of strengthening democratic governance, building lasting security, and promoting economic ties and diversification. People-to-people connections, underpinned by the dynamic Nigerian diaspora in the United States, amplify and strengthen our relationship,” reads the statement.
The U.S. State Secretary’s virtual visit comes at a time when Africa is battling an economic downturn that has come in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the same time, Kenya’s Ministry of Health is in the middle of a spat with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) over a shipment of Ksh. 1 billion worth of Anti-Retroviral (ARV) drugs.
The stalemate, which emerged in March, surrounds USAID’s insistence on using a foreign-based entity to distribute the drugs as opposed to through the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA), without paying tax on the shipment.
