U.S to Invest in Africa Without Imposing Unsustainable Debt

On Saturday, U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced upcoming investment plans in Africa which would not be a debt burden for the underdeveloped regions.

Four U.S countries have signed contracts worth $1 billion with Senegal in a series of efforts to help the African region in terms of infrastructure and development. He further said on Friday that the deals will be transparent and sustainable, hinting towards the Chinese infrastructure projects which have previously trapped poor nations into debt. Senegal’s Economy Minister Amadou Hott said the U.S will invest without saddling the nation into debt it cannot handle.

In September, Reuters reported that Mali was talks to deploy Wagner, Russian military contractor to help counter Islamist insurgency. Antony Blinken said, “It would be especially unfortunate if outside actors engaged in making things even more difficult and more complicated and I’m thinking particularly of groups like the Wagner Group.”

Other concerns were raised with European partners such as Ukraine who previously warned of a Russian attack as unusual activity was reported at the border. To this issue, Blinken said, “We do know the playbook of trying to cite some illusory provocation from Ukraine or any other country and using that as an excuse to do what Russia was planning to do all along.”

©Photo: Andrew Harnik/Pool via REUTERS