US embarks on a series of Africa visits

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to travel to the African continent in early August with stops that will include South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

His visit to the region follows Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s four-nation trip to the continent that ended in Ethiopia earlier this week.

Blinken’s visit to the continent will be buttressed by a separate visit by the US envoy to the United Nations after the US Mission confirmed that Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield – who is a member of President Joe Biden’s Cabinet – is also heading to Ghana and Uganda next week.

This follows a visit to Somalia and Kenya by the USAID Administrator Samantha Power last week.

Thomas-Greenfield’s visit is expected to focus on the US and global response to the impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine on global food security as well as other regional and bilateral priorities.