US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen visits Africa given rising influence of

Dakar/ Washington: When China and Russia are trying to increase their influence in the African continent, Janet Yellen, the US Treasury Secretary, has entered Africa. Yellen’s Africa tour is for ten days; during this period, she will visit three countries, namely Senegal, Zambia and South Africa. A few days ago, China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang visited African countries and tried to remove the resentment against China. After that, the US Treasury Secretary’s visit to Africa becomes an attention grabber.

Moreover, China has expanded its reach in the African continent in the last two decades. China has invested billions of dollars in this continent and China has made its ambition clear by setting up the first Chinese defence base abroad in a country like Djibouti. Even under the ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ scheme, it was seen that China had prioritised the continent of Africa. On the other hand, Russian President Vladimir Putin has also started moves to increase his influence in Africa. Russia has started adding to the number of partner countries in Africa on the strength of cooperation in the fuel and defence sectors. ‘Wagner Group’, a contract security company in Russia, has deployed its teams in some African countries and through that, Russia is trying to expand its base.

Due to these movements of China and Russia, the influence of America and Europe in Africa has decreased. It has come to light that African countries are making decisions with the help of China and Russia. African countries have supported China on many international platforms, including the United Nations. Many African countries refused to support Ukraine by siding with Ukraine in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Due to this, the European countries and the United States are upset and are again making moves to increase their influence in the African continent. The US announced a separate ‘Africa Strategy’ in August last year. At the same time, US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield and Foreign Minister Antony Blinken visited Africa. A comprehensive conference was also organised with the heads of state of African countries in December.

Furthermore, the US Treasury Secretary Yellen’s visit to Africa is considered the next stage. Yellen’s visit emphasises the importance of the financial assistance and other cooperation given to Africa by the US and the world financial institutions. During her visit to Senegal, Yellen focused on interacting with political leaders, young entrepreneurs, and other leading entrepreneurs. At this time, Yellen also realised that the increasing percentage of the African youth class was a decisive factor in developing the African continent.

At the same time, Yellen criticised China for trying to trap Africa in a debt trap. African countries should stay away from enticing but opaque agreements. ‘Such agreements, while creating the appearance of helping people, ultimately fail,’ Yellen criticised. At the same time, Yellen also advised that countries like China, which give loans to African countries, should assist these countries by providing loan waivers to bring them back to normal. The US Treasury Secretary also warned that if the loan waiver is given at the right time, it will be useful for both the giving and receiving countries.

Russia and China Navy to exercise with South Africa

Mexico/ Pretoria: Russia and China will participate in naval exercises with South Africa in February. The South African Army informed that this multinational exercise called ‘Operation Mosi’ would be conducted from 17th to 26th February. South Africa also said that the exercise would be undertaken in the maritime area of Durban and Richards Bay. Analysts claim that this practice signals the growing influence of China and Russia in Africa.

In 2019, South Africa conducted a joint naval exercise with Russia and China. Russia and China have succeeded in developing good relations with South Africa, a member of the ‘BRICS’ group.

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