U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Ethiopia and Niger this week, as part of Washington’s efforts to step up bilateral engagement with countries on the continent. Still, Washington’s framing of the visit is unlikely to convince skeptical African governments that the U.S. is sincere about treating them as equal partners.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa named a new minister this week to tackle the country’s electricity crisis as part of a Cabinet shakeup ahead of general elections next year. But many regard it as a half-hearted measure that is unlikely to produce the tangible policy reforms they argue South Africa desperately needs.
Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan and her Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, signed a “comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership” between the two countries late last year. But the display of diplomatic pomp at the announcement obscured the complex and often fractious partnership between the two countries.
