Antony Blinken visits Africa, vying with Russia for favor on continent hit by rising food prices – with insight from The Wall Street Journal

Use Spotify? Access BizNews podcasts here..Use Apple Podcasts? Access BizNews podcasts here..___STEADY_PAYWALL___.Antony Blinken Visits Africa, Vying With Russia for Favor on Continent Hit by Rising Food Prices.U.S. envoy's tour follows visit from Russian counterpart; contest for 'hearts and minds of African states'.By Jessica Donati in Washington and Gabriele Steinhauser in Johannesburg.U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken began a three-country tour of Africa on Sunday at a time of growing U.S. concern about Russia's clout on the continent and on the heels of a recent trip by Moscow's top envoy..The rise in food prices accelerated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine has hurt Africa, where most nations are net food importers. High fuel and food costs, drought, conflict and economic disruptions from the coronavirus pandemic are exacerbating poverty and unrest, and have driven millions to the brink of famine..Many African countries have resisted taking sides in the war in Ukraine and dismissed Western calls to participate in sanctions targeting Moscow. Mr. Blinken's trip, which starts in South Africa, comes amid a flurry of high-level visits to the continent from U.S. officials carrying the message that Russia's actions in Ukraine are to blame for the food crisis.."It's been somewhat of a wake-up call," said Brahima Sangafowa Coulibaly of the liberal-leaning U.S.-based think tank Brookings Institution. "African countries did not signal an overwhelming appetite to just buy into the West's rhetoric.".Major powers such as South Africa have declined to support United Nations resolutions condemning Russia. The African Union has complained to European leaders that paying for Russian food exports has become harder since most big Russian banks were removed from the Swift payment system..Mr. Blinken's tour, which will include stops in the Congo and Rwanda, will start as U.S. envoy to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield wraps up a trip to the continent. Ms. Thomas-Greenfield repeatedly blamed Russia for the food crisis in meetings with high-level officials and others during her four-day trip, according to official statements on the meetings..Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited four countries at the end of July, thanking African governments for staying out of the campaign of Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine. He blamed Europe and the U.S. for high food prices and offered to sell Russian oil, despite U.S. warnings that such transactions would break Western sanctions.."If there is a state in Africa interested in our oil, there is no obstacle to this," Mr. Lavrov said in a news conference with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni..French President Emmanuel Macron was also in West Africa at the end of July, where he accused Russia of being one of the world's remaining colonial powers.."Africa is becoming a space of competition around global influence, with different parties trying to really win some hearts and minds of African states, and to showcase that their positions are more beneficial to the continent," said Gustavo de Carvalho, senior researcher on African governance and diplomacy at the South African Institute of International Affairs..Winning influence won't be an easy task for Mr. Blinken..South Africa, his first stop, has carefully avoided picking sides. President Cyril Ramaphosa met virtually with Russian President Vladimir Putin in March, but isn't scheduled to meet with Mr. Blinken. When then-U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited South Africa, she met with then-President Jacob Zuma. The top U.S. envoy will instead see his South African counterpart, Naledi Pandor..Pretoria's stance is unlikely to change, said Mzukisi Qobo, who heads the Wits School of Governance at Johannesburg's University of the Witwatersrand. One topic Ms. Pandor is likely to raise with Mr. Blinken is the future of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which is due to expire in 2025. Like many countries on the continent, South Africa enjoys preferential access to the U.S. market for some goods, a boon for its automotive industry, in particular..The pair might also discuss a pledge by the U.S.—along with the U.K., Germany, France and the European Union—to help mobilize $8.5 billion in financing for South Africa's transition away from coal. Those funds are vital to Africa's most developed economy, which has been plagued in recent weeks by power cuts lasting up to 10 hours a day..While in South Africa, Mr. Blinken is due to set out the Biden administration's strategy for sub-Saharan Africa, which is expected to seek a reset of relations with the continent from the strained years of the Trump administration..Governments on the continent will be looking for more detail on a $600 billion infrastructure fund announced by the U.S. and its allies at a June summit of the Group of Seven developed economies, which is meant to rival China's Belt and Road Initiative..Mr. Blinken will be received by the heads of state in Congo and Rwanda, where he will likely spend much of his time trying to ease a fresh eruption in tensions between the neighbors..Congo's President Félix Tshisekedi has accused Rwanda of supporting a militia that has been attacking civilians and gaining territory in mineral-rich eastern Congo, a charge that Rwanda has denied. Several U.S. senators have called on the administration to review its ties to Rwanda over its alleged support for the M23 armed group.."The secretary will highlight the need for respect for territorial integrity and explore how the United States can support efforts to reduce tensions," African Affairs Assistant Secretary Molly Phee told reporters ahead of the trip..Nelleke van de Walle, project director for the Great Lakes region at the International Crisis Group, said that without a solution, the U.S. might freeze military aid to Rwanda as it did during M23's previous rebellion in 2012-13..Mr. Blinken might also try to build support for U.N. peacekeepers in eastern Congo. The U.N. personnel have been embroiled in occasionally violent protests over the force's perceived failure to protect civilians. Mr. Tshisekedi's government said it was reassessing the status of the U.N. mission, one of the world's largest, after at least 36 people, including three peacekeepers, died in the protests over the past two weeks..– Nicolas Bariyo in Kampala, Uganda, contributed to this article.

Antony Blinken visits Africa, vying with Russia for favor on continent hit by rising food prices – with insight from The Wall Street Journal

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