AfricaTopSuccess They make Africa
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced $150 million in new humanitarian aid for Africa’s Sahel region during a visit on Thursday to Niger, a country Washington views as an important ally in the fight against Islamist insurgencies, Reuters reported.
Blinken’s visit to Niger is the first by a U.S. Secretary of State and a strong show of support for an impoverished nation that has had relative success in containing rebel groups and managed a democratic transition in a coup-prone region.
“It will help provide life-saving support to refugees, asylum seekers, and others impacted by conflict and food insecurity in the region,” Blinken said in a statement about the new aid, which will go to Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and Mauritania as well as Sahelian refugees in Libya.
Blinken’s trip is the latest in a series of visits to Africa by U.S. government figures as Washington seeks to boost ties with a continent where China’s influence is strong and many countries maintain cordial relations with Russia.
