TE24 International Desk:
JOHANNESBURG – US Secretary of State Anthony Brinken arrived in South Africa on Sunday to begin a trilateral visit aimed at countering Russia’s influence on the continent.
The visit follows Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s trip to Africa late last month. South Africa, the leader of the developing world, remained neutral in the Ukraine war and joined Western calls to accuse Moscow of opposing apartheid before the end of white minority rule in 1994.
Blinken will meet his South African counterpart Naledi Pandora on Monday to make an announcement about the US government’s new Africa strategy, Pretoria said in a statement. They said they will discuss ongoing and current developments related to the global geopolitical situation.
Last month, the State Department focused African countries on the most pressing geopolitical issues of our time, from building an open and stable international system to addressing the effects of climate change, food insecurity and global pandemics. A strategic actor and key partner,
Brinken will visit the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda later this week in his second trip to Africa since being appointed early last year. The visit aims to boost support for sub-Saharan Africa’s largest country as it struggles to turn the page on decades of conflict.
He ended his tour in Rwanda. Democratic Congo Kigali denies the allegations, which have raised tensions with the Democratic Republic of Congo after the republic accused its eastern neighbor of supporting M23 rebels.
