United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken is set to make his first official visit to Africa where he would meet with Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari and Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta.
According to a statement from the US State Department on Monday, Blinken will on Tuesday meet with Buhari and Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama “to reiterate the value of our bilateral relationship and discuss issues of shared importance”.
The US secretary of state will further conduct a virtual trip to Kenya to meet Kenyatta and Cabinet Secretary Raychelle Omamo, in parts of activities to celebrate the “57-year bilateral relationship” between both countries and “discuss future cooperation to promote democracy and expand trade, and explore avenues to address global challenges, including climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic”.
The statement adds that Tuesday’s tour will also include a meeting with African youths from across the continent.
The US visit which is the first since President Joe Biden took over the White House, comes as the security situation in the country continues to spiral amid attacks by the Islamic State West Africa Province, ISWAP in the north, coupled with widespread displacement and increases in kidnappings for ransom.
