‘US Striving For Stronger Ties With Nigeria’

Mr Ice: Okay. Let’s go to the line of Lara Jakes, New York Times. Lara.
Hi, good afternoon, everyone. I wanted to press you a little bit more on Tigray, if I could. As you noted a few minutes ago, the United States has already taken steps, has issued demands for Eritrean troops to leave the region and for the atrocities to end. So I’m wondering: What deliverables are you looking for from tomorrow’s meeting or maybe even possible at this point as a result of tomorrow’s meeting? And is Secretary Blinken’s statement today a signal of any kind of announcement that may be made tomorrow or – about new actions or penalties?
Amb Godec: Thanks for the question. Well, I’m not going to get into the details of what might be discussed very specifically by way of announcements that might or might not come. What I would say is this, is Tigray is, as I said, a grave concern. It’s a – it is a crisis. And the instability and the fighting in Tigray is not just an Ethiopian issue. It’s a regional issue, and so it does pose risks to the entire region. We have spoken with President Kenyatta about this issue previously, and I’m sure – and we’ve spoken with other regional leaders and we will continue to do so. And we continue to look for ways to – what – bring the conflict to an end. And the regional leaders play a very important role in making that happen, and so we are in close communication with them.
Mr Ice: Okay. Let’s go to the line of Daphne Psaledakis of Reuters.
Hi, can you hear me?
Amb Godec: Yes, we got you.
Hi. Thanks for doing this. Chad’s new military rulers on Monday named the prime minister of a transitional government, a move dismissed by opposition leaders. Does the U.S. support the appointment and does the army have a right to pick a premier?
Amb Godec: So, we are gravely concerned by the events in Chad last week: the death of President Deby and the fighting which was taking place. We continue to closely monitor the situation on the ground. We are speaking with a number of people about it, of course. And we have been and continue to advocate for a peaceful and democratic transition to a civilian-led government. We’ve long stood with the people of Chad in advocating for democratic and representative government. The naming of a civilian prime minister is potentially a positive first step in restoring civilian governance.
I think it’s important to sort of stress that the Chadian people deserve an inclusive national dialogue where all the stakeholders can come together to decide the future of their country. The African Union Peace and Security Council had issued a statement recently and called for such a dialogue. We support the African Union initiative. We support the mission that they’re sending to Chad. And again, we would urge that this moment be taken to move the country forward in a democratic direction and that the people have an opportunity to really have a democracy, have a representative government.
Thank you.
Mr Ice: Okay. Let’s go to Noah Pitcher of Today News Africa.
Hi. Thanks for taking my question. So many African countries, including Nigeria and Kenya, have dealt with the food insecurity and economic instability for some time now, but the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic have, in many cases, exacerbated and complicated these pre-existing issues. As he speaks with presidents of Nigeria and Kenya, how does the Secretary plan to address these problems? And what is the administration’s vision for the U.S.’s practical role in helping African nations continue to develop and also economically recover from the pandemic?
Amb Godec: Thanks very much for the question. You’re certainly raising an important issue. I mean, first, we have to get past the pandemic. And we’re committed, as I said, to working with the entire world to do that, including the countries of Africa. But once it’s past, once the pandemic itself is over and, in fact, even before, in many respects, we do need to address the economic consequences of the pandemic. And so this is something that is under discussion. We are looking at ways in which we can assist. There are upcoming conferences and meetings that will be addressing this and which should be providing more detail, making things more concrete, more definite.
We already support some of the stuff that the international financial institutions are doing by way of making assistance available to help address the economic consequences of the crisis. And this, of course, is all in addition to the wide-ranging assistance that we already provide to both Kenya and Nigeria. We’re already providing in Kenya, for example, considerable education assistance, health assistance, assistance to youth, a wide range of things, and, of course, we do a lot of things in Nigeria as well.
So, as we move forward, we will be looking at what new things need to be done specifically to address the consequences of the pandemic, but also what we’re doing now and whether there’s additional ways to pivot or change that to make it more responsive to the new reality that Covid-19 unfortunately has brought to African countries and, indeed, to the world.
Mr Ice: And I think we’ve got time for one more question. Let’s go to Christopher Woody at Business Insider. Christopher.
Thank you for your time today. During the testimony last week before Congress, the head of U.S. Africa Command expressed concern about Chinese engagement in Africa. I wanted to ask if Secretary Blinken plans to bring up any specific concerns he has about Kenya’s or Nigeria’s engagements with China during his meetings.
Amb Godec: So, I think I would start here. The entire administration, President and the Secretary and all of us, really see African countries as partners – pursue our shared interests, things we’re working on, and I mentioned earlier security, global health, climate change, democracy, economic growth, all the rest of it. And that’s – that is the way the United States engages with Africa. We talk with Africans about what they want. We discuss our shared interests. We look for a way forward. That’s the basis.
So, with respect to China, we don’t see our relationship with Africa through the frame of China. Obviously, China is a very serious competitor. China’s a central challenge that’s going to define the 21st century. It’s something that we do have to address. In Africa, we’re going to meet the challenge that China presents by working to ensure that, for example, American companies can compete on an even playing field, provide a meaningful alternative to China’s economic approach. We’re going to push back on corrupt or coercive practices. We’re going to encourage Africans to look for a range of deals and offers on things that they need and want and make sure – and work to make sure that the American offer is the best offer and the one that’s most attractive.
I think that what I can say is that the United States offers an alternative vision, or certainly a very different vision from the one that China presents, on economic development, on democratic governance, on human rights, on transparency, and all the rest of it. And I think that that ultimately is a very attractive model, and we’ll continue to emphasize that to the Africans and work with them, again, to achieve our shared objectives.
Mr Ice%3 Very good. Everyone, that’s all we have time for this afternoon, I do want to thank everyone for joining us. I’d especially like to thank Acting Assistant Secretary Bob Godec for joining us today. And with that, the call is ended and the embargo is lifted. Have a nice day.
Amb Godec: Thanks very much, everybody. Bye-bye.