US Secretary of State meets Tinubu, Ivorian President today
The United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, will today meet President Bola Tinubu and Ivory Coast President, Alassane Ouattara, in a bid to forge a united front with key African democracies.
In Abidjan, Blinken will meet Ouattara, a veteran leader who has won US praise for strengthening democracy, before heading to Abuja to see Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, elected last year on a platform of economic reforms.
The two West African powers, one English-speaking and one French-speaking, have largely stood by the United States regardless of unease in much of the continent over the Western focus on arming Ukraine and, more recently, US support for Israel in its war with Hamas.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, and Ivory Coast as well as Kenya in East Africa, joined the United States in a United Nations vote in 2022 to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
