By Libby George

ABUJA (Reuters). – The U.S. will be doing things differently to help Africa develop its infrastructure, said Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in a policy speech Friday. He also stated that international infrastructure agreements are often opaque and coercive.

Africa is dependent on billions of dollars per year for roads, railways, dams, and power development. Over the past decade, most of that funding has come from China. China generally doesn’t tie money to human or political rights.

Blinken, a U.S. Africa Policy Speech in Abuja stated that too many infrastructure issues were preventing growth and opportunities in Nigeria.

Blinken stated, “By meeting these needs, we are able to improve lives, strengthen economies and protect the environment at the same.”

Many international infrastructure agreements are coercive and opaque. They impose large amounts of debt on unmanageable countries. They are also harmful to the environment. These are not always beneficial to the actual residents of these areas. Things will be different for us.”

Blinken claimed that Washington was not interested in China’s involvement with infrastructure projects in Africa, but rather to increase the infrastructure standard without causing debt.

Some have criticized the Biden administration for being too indifferent to Africa. This is a complaint that’s common about U.S. Foreign Policy, but it rings more now as China expands its economic and political roots on Africa.

Olugbenga Agboola (CEO of Flutterwave), Africa-focused payments company, saw Blinken’s visit as significant.

“For us it is huge to see more US strengthen their partnership with Nigeria,” he stated.

Biden’s administration’s top priority was to revitalize allies worldwide following four years of unilateralism under the former President Donald Trump.

Blinken said that authoritarianism was rising around the world, and the United States faced threats to its democracy.

Technology is used to suppress dissent, and punish citizens. Democracies need to respond to this call and fight against disinformation,” he stated.

Blinken’s trip to Africa comes at a time when several crises are engulfing the continent, most recently the war in northern Ethiopia and the military coup in Sudan.