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U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s Visit to Africa Is About China, Not Africa

by Ovigwe Eguegu
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (L) meets with Senegalese President Macky Sall (R) at the Presidential Palace in Dakar on February 16, 2020, as part of his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa during which he will seek to lay out a positive vision for US cooperation with the continent where China has been increasingly active. ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / POOL / AFP

U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo will make his first trip to sub-Saharan Africa on Saturday. On his first-ever trip to Africa after nearly two years in office, Mr. Pompeo will visit Senegal, Angola, and Ethiopia.

Against the backdrop of the recent inclusion of some African countries in the list of countries excluded from some immigrant visa, the Pentagon’s plan to pull troops from Africa, Trump cutting funds for African programs and the general lackluster US diplomatic engagement with the continent; there isn’t much to be excited about.

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