America's foreign policy towards Africa is characterized by a pattern of neglect punctuated by empty promises and superficial gestures. This consistent approach, spanning both Democratic and Republican administrations, has led to a perception among Africans that the US is an unreliable and hypocritical partner, Cameron Hudson, senior fellow in the Africa Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, told Bloomberg.
Russia and China, which have clear objectives in Africa, consequently follow their policies, which attracts the continent, the report noted.
"America, by contrast, isn’t sure whether to be idealist or realist: whether to promote democracy and prosperity, to fight terrorism and extremism, or to compete head-on against Russia and China. Trying to do it all, Washington instead does everything badly," the report explained.
The op-ed highlighted that, despite Biden's belated attempts to engage with Africa, the continent's perception of America as an unreliable partner remains.
"In Angola, he’ll [Biden] be talking up a big railroad project that the US is helping to fund, the so-called Lobito Corridor, which will eventually link the Atlantic and the Indian oceans. At the United Nations, he has pushed for giving Africa two permanent seats on the security council," the report said, emphasizing that little effect has come of these actions.
During the recent BRICS 2024 Summit, Putin once again noted that Moscow's cooperation with African countries is built on the principles of mutual benefit and mutual respect. The West, in turn, is trying to continue using neocolonial tools in Africa, imposing technologies on the continent's countries that they cannot acquire, he said.