US Secretary of State Antony Blinken came on Thursday to lend his support to Niger, a stable country in a region plagued by jihadist violence where Russia is scoring points.
Mr. Blinken is the first head of American diplomacy to visit the former French colony, a key military base for Western forces in their fight against jihadists in the Sahel.
Following a meeting with President Mohamed Bazoum, he announced new humanitarian aid to the Sahel region, including Niger, in the amount of $150 million, bringing the total of this aid to $233 million for 2023.
"Niger was quick to defend democratic values threatened in neighboring countries," Blinken said at a press conference, referring to Mali and Burkina Faso led by putschist soldiers.
Before meeting with President Bazoum, he began his visit with a meeting with repentant jihadists who benefit from a reintegration program funded to the tune of $20 million by the United States.
This program is about to offer these ex-jihadists "a better choice" and "from our point of view, it is truly a model" for the region, he declared after this meeting.
In Ethiopia on Wednesday, Blinken said his trips to the two countries were part of President Joe Biden's pledge to be "all for Africa with Africa".
The Biden administration wants to do more to counter growing influences there from China and - more recently - Russia.
Mali, a country bordering Niger, has moved closer to Russia and broken the military alliance with France and its partners in the anti-jihadist fight.
Westerners claim that mercenaries from the Russian paramilitary group Wagner are in Mali, which Bamako denies, speaking of Russian instructors.
In February, Mali was one of six countries to support Russia by voting against a UN General Assembly resolution urging Moscow to withdraw from Ukraine, on the anniversary of the 'invasion.
Another neighbor of Niger, Burkina Faso, also ruled by putschists and facing jihadist violence, has also moved closer to Russia and demanded the departure of 400 French special forces soldiers based in Ouagadougou.
"We note that the security situation has further deteriorated and we are very worried about this deterioration" in Burkina, said Nigerien Foreign Minister Hassoumi Massoudou.
He said, however, that "the information we have does not allow us to say that Wagner is in Burkina Faso" at this time. According to him, this "criminal" and "mercenary" group is only present "in failed or failing states".
In this context, Niger has become an essential ally of France in its military efforts in West Africa: a thousand soldiers are stationed there.
The United States also built and operates Air Base 201 in the center of the desert country, used to fly drones to attack and monitor jihadists.
The history of independent Niger has been marked since 1974 by a series of coups, the last of which took place in 2010.
It regained stability in 2011 after the election of Mahamadou Issoufou who retired in 2021, giving way to Mohamed Bazoum, for the first peaceful transfer of power between two elected presidents in this country.
President Bazoum's action was hailed in Washington, particularly during a summit of African leaders organized by Joe Biden in the American capital in December.
A senior American official traveling with Mr. Blinken said that this trip was intended to support the efforts of President Bazoum who criticizes the action of the Wagner group.
"We believe they are making the right choices to deal with the kinds of common threats across the Sahel. So we're trying to highlight a positive example," the official said, adding that Washington wanted to help Niamey "professionalize." its armed forces.
“Frankly, Niger is in a very difficult position,” she continued, but “despite all these challenges, the authorities are really trying to do the right thing.”
16/03/2023 21:39:06 - Niamey (AFP) © 2023 AFP
