Overview

• US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has begun a tour of four African countries, starting with Cape Verde and Ivory Coast, to strengthen partnerships and promote positive news on the continent.
• Blinken met with Cape Verde Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva and Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara to discuss shared priorities of strengthening democracy, expanding trade and improving local and regional security.
• Blinken also attended a football match between Equatorial Guinea and Ivory Coast as part of the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations tournament.
• Despite the Biden administration's focus on conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, officials insist they remain committed to strengthening ties with African nations, which hold vast economic potential and are a locus of great-power competition with China and Russia.
• Blinken's visit to Cape Verde, a remote African island chain, is intended to show the Biden administration’s continued interest in Africa amid major conflicts in the Middle East and Europe.