US Secretary of State Pledges $45 Million for Coastal West African Security

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(Photo Credit: Al Jazeera) 

During a visit to Abidjan, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced a $45 million pledge to bolster security efforts in coastal West Africa, extending the funding of an ongoing regional program to a total of $300 million.

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In light of this, Blinken praised the Ivorian military's counterinsurgency operations, particularly in light of the challenging security dynamics faced by the country, situated between the conflict-prone regions of Mali and Burkina Faso in the Sahel.

Following his visit to Abidjan, Blinken proceeded to Abuja, where he met with Nigeria’s President and Chair of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Bola Tinubu, as part of a larger four-nation tour encompassing Angola and Cape Verde.

Concurrently, US Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, embarked on a separate trip, attending the inauguration of Liberia’s new president Joseph Boakai and subsequently visiting Guinea Bissau and Sierra Leone. These diplomatic tours are officially positioned as demonstrations of support for regional democracies. However, analysts perceive them as strategic maneuvers for the US to fortify existing security partnerships or cultivate new alliances in a context of waning Western influence.

READ ALSO: Explosion in Southwest Nigeria Claims Two Lives, Others Injured

Daniel Eizenga, a research fellow at the Africa Centre for Strategic Studies, noted that recent developments, including the diffusion of armed group violence and escalating anti-French sentiments from the Sahel down to coastal West Africa, have intensified pressure on governments in the region to explore alternative security frameworks beyond conventional Western support. This has prompted the US to exhibit diplomatic solidarity with relatively stable democracies along the Atlantic coast.

Eizenga outlined the strategic imperative driving these diplomatic overtures, underscoring the importance of addressing the mounting security pressures being experienced by coastal West African countries due to the deteriorating situation in the Sahel.

With around 6 percent of the world’s population residing in the region, Washington seeks to counteract these pressures, signaling a proactive commitment to shaping security dynamics in the area.

 Source: aljazeera

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