Africa-Press – Eswatini. The US Secretary of the Treasury, Janet Yellen, this Friday in Dakar accused the Russian invasion of Ukraine of slowing down growth in Africa and pushing millions of Africans into poverty and hunger.
“Russia’s barbaric aggression against its neighbor is being felt especially in Africa and by its people”, said Yellen, who began a 10-day visit to three African countries – Senegal, Zambia and South Africa – in the Senegalese capital.
“Russia’s war and food militarization have exacerbated food insecurity and caused untold suffering,” said the Treasury secretary, in a speech given at the General Delegation for Rapid Entrepreneurship of Women and Youth (DER/FJ) in Senegal.
For Yellen, “the headwinds of the world economy caused by the actions of one man – President (Vladimir) Putin – are creating unnecessary ballast in the African economy”.
The Secretary of the Treasury recalled the collaboration between the United States of America and African leaders to “mitigate the damage caused by Russia”, which made Washington allocate around 13 billion dollars (about 12 billion euros) to 2022 for emergency relief and food assistance.
The North American also highlighted her country’s work to unblock Ukrainian food exports in the Black Sea Cereals Initiative, namely destined for the African continent.
Meanwhile, he said that “a strategic partnership is being established between the United States and Africa in terms of food security”.
“This partnership will respond to the short-term needs of more than 300 million Africans affected by the food crisis and will also help build resilient and sustainable food systems in the long term”, he underlined.
Yellen also alluded to how the war in Ukraine has threatened energy security around the world, and stressed the importance of the strategy of limiting the price of Russian crude oil to stabilize energy prices in international markets and reduce Russia’s revenues.
The Treasury secretary announced in Dakar the US intention to expand trade and investment in Africa, in a “mutually beneficial” way.
Over the past two years, the US has helped to facilitate more than 800 trade and investment agreements in 47 African countries, Yellen stressed, referring to the programs developed within the scope of the US Development Finance Corp. and the Millennium Challenge Corp, aimed at promoting economic integration, helping American and African companies and investors to identify new partners and opportunities for growth.
Before traveling to Africa, Yellen met her Chinese counterpart, Liu He, in Switzerland on Wednesday as part of an effort to ease tensions between the US and the Asian superpower, but the White House’s strategy to Sub-Saharan Africa has been vocal about expressing concerns about China’s involvement in the continent.
Africa holds 30% of the most important minerals to meet the needs of the modern world, including 40% of the world’s gold production, up to 90% of chromium and platinum, and has the largest reserves of cobalt, diamonds, platinum and uranium in the world , according to the United Nations Environment Programme.
The Secretary of State’s agenda for yesterday includes a meeting with the Senegalese Minister of Economy, Oulimata Sarr, talks with young businesswomen, and ends the day at a dinner at the residence of the Senegalese President, Macky Sall.
For More News And Analysis About Eswatini Follow Africa-Press
