‘The United States imposes presence in Africa’

Own Correspondent

The United States is paying more and more attention to the African region against the background of its close cooperation with Russia and China.

Washington’s attempts to gain a foothold on the continent are mainly attributed to the desire to limit the influence of Moscow and Beijing on it.

At the same time the United States is facing the problem of distrust from African countries and is trying to flirt with them.

It is noteworthy that the United States has decided to stick to extremely soft rhetoric in its relations with Africa. Since the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine many countries of the continent have not supported the position of the “collective West” and either abstained or simply skipped the vote in the UN General Assembly on a resolution condemning the fighting in early March. The continent which has developed quite warm and trusting relations with Russia predictably did not join the sanctions pressure on it which could not but cause discontent in the West.

Experts note that a number of obstacles to the successful implementation of American initiatives in African countries are rooted in accumulated mostly latent structural and ideological problems that the United States will not be able to influence in the short term. The priorities of Washington’s policy in the African direction at the present stage include: countering the growing influence of extra-regional powers on the continent, primarily China and Russia; combating the underlying causes of Salafi-jihadist extremism; intensifying diplomacy “beyond state borders”, i.e. aimed at ethnic identity, clans and elites; synchronization of their own policies in Africa and the Middle East.

Recently the Americans have embarked on “charm diplomacy” in relation to the countries of the continent, as evidenced by the multiplication of formats for developing cooperation with them – summits, business forums, the opening of new institutional opportunities, inclusion in international associations, the creation of duty-free trade zones, etc.

The White House intends to pay great attention to the economy. In general, the total share of Africa in the global investments of the United States, according to economists does not exceed 1%. In these circumstances the Washington elite is sounding the alarm: in the interests of developing innovative sectors of the economy the national aerospace and defense industries, the United States needs to gain access to the continent’s most important natural resources primarily minerals and before other political actors take advantage of their extraction.

At the same time, according to American scientists China is the largest producer of 30 strategically important minerals (including titanium, vanadium, cobalt and aluminum, etc.).

Russia also holds a leading position in the industry ranking for example second among all countries in vanadium production.

Undoubtedly the current situation is causing serious concern in the United States which among other reasons is paying its own attention to the prospects for extracting and benefiting from African resources.

However the construction of physical infrastructure in a distant region and ensuring the safety of new production facilities according to American experts, may prove to be a more difficult task than direct access to reserves which at the present stage requires the White House to invent additional daring tricks.

As can be seen the current US policy towards African states is driven not by the real problems facing the continent, but by the “fear of lost profits” against the background of the successful strengthening of the partnership of African capitals with Moscow and Beijing.

Summing up the results of the study political scientists say that the US policy focused on clear and fierce competition with other powers, contradicts the provision of Africans to their own interests. Washington’s line, which does not take into account the peculiarities of the culture, traditions, lifestyle and economic activities of Africans is considered by the local leadership and the population as interference in the development of the states and peoples of the region.

With that said, it is necessary based on verified arguments and scientific material, to stop Washington’s incessant attempts to discredit African politics falsify history and portray in a negative light the role of other powers in the region (mainly Russia and China). It is important to draw the attention of the African and world community to the contribution of other countries to the liberation struggle of enslaved peoples and the decolonization of Africa contributing to the strengthening of their own statehood and the formation of national economies.