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Why The United States Wants To Restore Its Influence In Africa

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The United States is losing influence in Africa, but their top diplomat on the continent wants to reverse the situation.

“For too long, when investors knocked on the door and the Africans opened, the only people standing on the doorstep were the Chinese,” said Tibor Nagy, assistant secretary of state for business. Africans at the BBC.

China’s economic and trade relations with the African continent have eclipsed those of the United States over the last decade, and by 2018 it was more than three times larger.

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Some of the largest US diplomatic posts in African capitals have remained vacant since President Trump took office.

Mr. Nagy says he wants to turn the tide and restore America’s influence on the continent. “My job is to make sure that when someone knocks on the door, there’s also an American,” he says. Can America reverse the trend and compete with China on the African continent?

Diplomatic missions “obsolete”?

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Nominations of US ambassadors to African capitals have made very little progress in the last two years.

Some top positions, including those in South Africa and Nigeria, have remained vacant since President Trump removed all US ambassadors worldwide after his inauguration in 2017.

Some have been appointed by the president, such as South Africa and Nigeria, and are awaiting confirmation by the US Senate, but others, such as Chad and Tanzania, have remained vacant.

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Nagy was appointed a permanent representative of the State Department for Africa only in July 2018.

Previously, this was a vacancy, filled by a temporary appointment.

Analysts say China has sent senior officials to African countries.

“In South Africa, China has a top diplomat, which proves it’s a really important country for Beijing,” says Lina Benabdallah, a specialist in China-Africa relations at Wake Forest University.

A number of other emerging powers, such as Turkey and India, are also expanding their diplomatic presence.

The Indian government has recently approved plans for 18 new embassies in Africa.

“(It’s difficult) to make Africa a priority in the administration,” says Eric Olander, founder of the Africa-China project, a non-profit organization dedicated to exploring China’s commitment in Africa.

Non-diplomatic language

Relationships were not facilitated by the statements on Africa of US government officials, including the president, who was considered very offensive.

Mr Trump would have described African countries as “shitty countries” and talked about Africa as a place where his friends would try to get rich.

He also addressed the highly controversial issue of land expropriation for white farmers in South Africa, provoking an angry reaction from the government of that country.

“The fundamental problem is that we can not excuse the president – he has described all of Africa in the meanest terms,” ​​said Reuben E Brigety, former US ambassador to the African Union. President Obama.

The US State Department maintains that it values ​​its partnerships across Africa and that its commitment is stronger than ever.

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The United States has been the largest source of direct investment in Africa, but its contribution is declining.

In 2018, China announced investments worth $ 60 billion (after $ 60 billion committed in 2015) that included infrastructure projects under its Belt and Road initiative to build global trade routes.

Benabdallah said trade between the United States and African countries has declined because of increased interest not only from China but also from other countries such as Russia and Turkey.

“I think it’s because the competition from all other countries has increased compared to the last decade,” says Benabdallah.

China’s economic growth has recently shown signs of a slowdown that may well affect Africa’s trade and investment levels in the future.

But with the increasingly fierce global competition for doing business with African countries, the United States will have to redouble its efforts to recapture more and more emerging economies.