“These three countries are major contributors to regional stability. Also, the countries are benefiting from dynamic leadership,” a senior State Department official said on customary condition of anonymity.
The official said that a “major theme” will be the growing role of China, which has poured money into the continent as part of its global blitz of infrastructure spending.
China has invested especially heavily in Angola, which racked up an estimated US$25 billion (S$35 billion) in debt to Beijing to be repaid with oil shipments.
The United States has been encouraging developing countries to exercise caution with China, saying that big-ticket projects can turn into debt traps that primarily benefit China, and has billed the US private sector as an alternative.
The US official said Pompeo would stress “economic growth, trade and investment” in a continent whose population is forecast to double by 2050.
“We want to absolutely empower that youth and make sure that they are a force for dynamic growth and economic empowerment and better governance in the world,” he said.
CONCERNS ON SECURITY
The United States has hardly sent consistently supportive messages ahead of Pompeo’s trip. The Pentagon announced this week that it will start adjusting its military presence in Africa as it considers cuts, with resources instead expected to go to countering China, Russia and Iran.
France has voiced particular concern at the impact of US cuts on the fight against Islamist extremism. The French are leading a 4,500-strong operation in the Sahel to crush a rise in militants, with the United States providing in-flight refueling and other logistical support.
“I think the signal the US government is said to have sent that they are withdrawing from the Sahel will be very, very worrisome in Senegal and in the Sahelian countries,” said Ahmadou Aly Mbaye, a professor at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar.
“This should be a very important talking point during his visit,” said Mbaye, who is also a non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington.
