THE new US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, has been busy calling African leaders as he settles down under the Trump administration with its radical agenda for domestic and international policies.
With Rwandan-backed M23 rebels announcing that Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo had fallen to them, Rubio telephoned the President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, to stress that the US ‘is deeply troubled by escalation of the ongoing conflict in eastern DRC,’ according to a State Department Spokesperson.
‘The Secretary urged an immediate ceasefire in the region, and for all parties t
o respect sovereign territorial integrity,’ the Spokesperson said.
‘Secretary Rubio conveyed the overriding goal of the United States is a durable peace that addresses security concerns and lays the foundation for a thriving regional economy.’
When Rubio spoke earlier to President Félix Tshisekedi of the DRC, he condemned the assault on Goma and ‘affirmed the United States’ respect for the sovereignty of the DRC’. Rubio and Tshisekedi agreed on ‘the importance of advancing the Luanda Process and Angolan President João Lourenço’s efforts to restart tal
ks between the DRC and Rwanda as soon as possible’.
On the list of those Rubio has called is Kenyan President William Ruto, with their discussion focusing on Kenya’s ‘leadership of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission to Haiti’.
The State Department spokesperson said: ‘The Secretary also reiterated the importance of Kenya’s role in promoting regional peace and security in Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan and the DRC.’
During Rubio’s call to Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf, they ‘discussed ways to deepen economic and energy cooperation between the two countries that would benefit Americans and Algerians…and also discussed efforts to address instability in the Sahel’.
Rubio is in charge of implementing Trump’s radical Executive Order on Reevaluating and Realigning US Foreign Aid.
The State Department Spokesperson confirmed that Rubio had paused all US foreign assistance funded by or through the State Department and US Agency for International Development (USAID) for review.
‘He is initiating a review of all foreign assistance programmes to ensure they are efficient and consistent with US foreign policy under the America First agenda,’ the Spokesperson said.
‘President Trump stated clearly that the United States is no longer going to blindly dole out money with no return for the American people.
‘Reviewing and realigning foreign assistance on behalf of hardworking taxpayers is not just the right thing to do, it is a moral imperative.
‘The Secretary is proud to protect America’s investment with a deliberate and judicious review of how we spend foreign assistance dollars overseas,’ the Spokesperson added.
Rubio, in backing Trump’s decision had said: ‘Every dollar we spend, every programme we fund, and every policy we pursue must be justified with the answer to three simple questions: Does it make America safer? Does it make America stronger? Does it make America more prosperous?’
