US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Wednesday, the first country of his African tour. A visit which comes as relations between the two countries have deteriorated since the start of the conflict in Tigray in 2020.
With our correspondent in Nairobi, Albane Thirouard
the peace agreement, signed on November 2 between the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the Tigrayan rebels, provides, among other things, for the disarmament of the rebel forces, the restoration of federal authority in Tigray and the reopening of access and communications to the region. Washington intends to put pressure to ensure that this agreement is respected and it is to do this that the number two American has moved.
But this visit does not mark an immediate return to normalcy between Addis Ababa and Washington, insisted Molly Phee, the assistant secretary of state for African affairs. Rather, it is about reshaping the relationship between the two countries.
Ethiopia is pushing in particular for the lifting of certain economic sanctions, underlines Cameron Hudson, specialist in Africa at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Washington has notably suspended at the beginning of 2022 the country of Agoaa law allowing exports to the United States without paying customs duties.
The Americans intend first to assess and consolidate the implementation of the Pretoria peace agreement. Since its signing, the fighting has ceased. Power has been restored to parts of Tigray. But humanitarian aid remains insufficient. And several points are difficult to verify, for lack of access. Blinken is due to talk about this with government officials, Tigrayans as well as various humanitarians and members of civil society.
A meeting with the President of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, is also planned in Addis Ababa. Antony Blinken is due to speak to the press in Addis Ababa on Wednesday afternoon. He is then expected in Niger on Thursday. This African tour marks a renewed interest of the United States for the continent, several senior American officials have indeed visited there since the United States-Africa summit in December. The Americans are seeking to assert their presence on the continent to counter Chinese and Russian influences.