US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen on Friday touted the fruits of a new “mutually beneficial” economic strategy toward Africa, contrasting the damage caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s practices.
“The United States is all in on Africa, and all in with Africa,” she said during a visit to Senegal, part of a push by US President Joe Biden’s administration to boost relations with a continent where Washington faces increased competition from other major powers. “Our engagement is not transactional, it’s not for show, and it’s not for the short-term.”
Yellen, who had attended a US-Africa summit hosted by Biden in Washington last month, said the president, vice president and other Cabinet secretaries would travel to African countries this year.
Photo: Reuters
“The world is finally catching up to recognizing Africa’s contributions — past and future,” she said on a visit to a business incubator in Dakar, her first stop on a three-country tour of the continent.
She said the US was seeking “to modernize our relationship by focusing on what we can do together, rather than what we can do for each other.”
The relationship would be “based on mutual cooperation and greater ambition,” she said.
Yellen cited the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as major economic headwinds for Africa.
“Let me be clear: the single best thing we can do to help the global economy is to end Russia’s illegal and unprovoked war in Ukraine,” Yellen said.
“Russia’s war and weaponization of food has exacerbated food insecurity and caused untold suffering, and the global economic headwinds caused by the actions of a single man — [Russian] President [Vldamir] Putin — is creating an unnecessary drag on” economies, she said.
In her speech, which followed a meeting with Senegalese Minister of Economy, Planning and Cooperation Oulimata Sarr, Yellen highlighted the continent’s promising demographics.
However, she said that economic growth would only come with adequate job opportunities and investments.
US investments on the continent are “motivated by our mutually beneficial, long-term partnership — the goal is to generate positive economic returns while fostering sustainable debt,” she said.
African governments need the “fiscal space” to make “important” public investments, she added.
“We believe that the international community, including China, needs to provide meaningful debt relief to help countries regain their footing,” she said.
Yellen’s speech came a day after she announced the Treasury had begun taking measures at home to prevent a default on US government debt.
In Dakar, she described US plans to partner with African states on climate change, health and security issues.
She reiterated US support for the African Union to join the G20.
She said international institutions needed to be reformed, but also that African governments needed greater accountability and transparency.
“Countries need to be wary of shiny deals that may be opaque and ultimately fail to actually benefit the people they were purportedly designed to help in the first place,” Yellen said.
“This can leave countries with a legacy of debt, diverted resources, and environmental destruction,” she said.
In an implicit contrast with China, which takes a hands-off approach in countries where it invests, Yellen said the US has taken a “different” tack, prioritizing “transparency, good governance, accountability and environmental sustainability.”
“While our approach may be exacting, we believe it delivers lasting results,” she said.
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