During the last leg of his African visit, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced further investments in Senegal, portraying them as a bonus for democracy in the country famed for its stability.
Mr Blinken said in the Senegalese capital on Saturday that Africa can provide a wide variety of relationship opportunities even as conflicts between the US and China grow, despite growing commercial ties between African nations and the Asian superpower.
The US Secretary of State penned billion-dollar deals with American corporations during his visit to Senegal, including a technology contract for public safety services and a project to improve traffic with improved roads.
He also paid a visit to Dakar’s Pasteur Institute, where he offered to assist Africans in developing their own vaccines.
“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.
“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 said.
Mr Blinken said Africans should not have to choose between their partners in a speech in Nigeria on Friday, a position supported by Senegalese Foreign Minister Aissata Tall Sall.
“Africa is an opportunity. Our diplomacy is sovereign and does not exclude anyone. But also we have traditional friends and historical partners and we are not going to leave the old for the new,” she said.
