The Acting Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Donald Yamamoto will spend two days on an official visit to Kigali between December 13 and 14.
The indipendant states that It will be the conclusion of a two-week trip to four African countries and the UK in which he will hold bilateral talks with leaders, discuss regional security, food, and refugee issues according to a statement released by the U.S. Department of State. His itinerary included visits to Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, and the UK.
Ambassador Yamamoto’s comes just weeks after the U.S. hosted over 37 African foreign ministers in Washington D.C in what is being billed as the largest African foreign policy event to date under President Donald Trump.
The event held on Nov. 16 and 17 included discussions on trade and investment, counterterrorism, and good governance.
Ahead of that event, Yamamoto told VOA’s Africa 54 program that the goal of the U.S. is to craft policy that goes beyond aid to build mutually beneficial partnerships.
In Rwanda, Yamamoto looks set to pursue the same agenda. According to the State Department statement, he will be courting President Kagame ahead of his term as President of the African Union.
According to the VOA, Africa has unexpectedly come to the forefront of the Trump administration’s foreign policy following the killing in October of four Green Berets in a remote village in Niger, West Africa.
Following the attack, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, said, “The war is headed to Africa. It’s beginning to morph. As we suppress the enemy in the Mideast, they are going to move.”
In the near term, the U.S. now plans to continue playing a lead role in training African partner nations. U.S. It aims to work with local forces to upgrade security and facilitate coordination across nations to guard against Boko Haram, Islamic State, drug trafficking and other threats, according to Yamamoto.
In the long term, however, security will come from economic growth and prosperity, Yamamoto said. To ensure this, the U.S wants to discuss strategies for reducing debt and eliminating barriers to trade within the continent.
