In this Geopolitical Trends video, host David Oualaalou examines U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s ten‑day tour of Senegal, Zambia, and South Africa as a diplomatic effort to re‑engage Africa after years of neglect. He argues the trip is less about genuine partnership and more about countering China’s and Russia’s growing footholds on the continent. Oualaalou outlines Africa’s strategic importance—its rapidly expanding, youthful population, vast arable land, and abundant critical minerals needed for electric‑vehicle batteries and renewable energy. He highlights China’s emergence as Africa’s largest trading partner (over $254 billion in 2021) and Russia’s push for a logistics base in Eritrea and joint naval drills with South Africa. The video also details how U.S. monetary tightening and a strong dollar are inflating African debt service costs, projected to rise to $25 billion in 2023. Oualaalou notes a broader U.S. engagement plan that will bring President Biden, Vice President Harris, Trade Representative Katherine Tai, and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to Africa within the year. Concluding, he warns that one‑off high‑level visits will not win African trust; the United States must invest in language, cultural fluency, and education to compete effectively in the 21st‑century geopolitical landscape.
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Hello everyone and welcome to Geopolitical Trends. My name is David Oualaalou. So good to be with you as always. Why is the United States pushing for a diplomatic way to woo Africa? In this video, I'm going to provide you some insights into why that is, and sort of the answer might really surprise you to a degree. So, but before I'll get into that, I want to express my sincere thanks to the supporters and the members of the channel. And for you, if this is your first time, uh, landing on this channel, make sure to subscribe and hit the notification button so you will be notified every time I upload a new video. Let's dive in into this topic. So currently, the US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen She's about— she's spending about 10 days in Africa. She just begun a 10-day tour of 3 African nations. It's Senegal, South Africa, and Zimbabwe— or Zambia, rather. Zambia, that is. So the interesting aspect of it is because the Biden administration wants to set up some sort of an overture to a continent where both China and Russia have made inroads. Because since when the United States cared much about Africa? I mean, let's just face it, it's the reality of it. So, and this is why, uh, uh, Janet Yellen is there, uh, to figure out how can we woo Africa. It's not gonna work because Africa does not trust the United States. So why is she really there for? So, so she's visiting, as I mentioned, Senegal, Zambia, and South African countries where the US has been touting investments there in infrastructure because of the metal for electric vehicles or the vehicle batteries and so forth, and renewable energy. Of course the US is gonna say this, but that is not the reason why the US all of a sudden focusing its attention in Africa, and I'm gonna tell you why as I move forward in this discussion here. So Janet Yellen is also expected to discuss raising debt level in Africa after several defaults. Yeah, get this, after several defaults and the prospects of more as an interest rate in the United States is rising. So this is where you start to wonder, why is she there for? So, so the trip, as the Washington or the White House said, is aimed to show Africa how much the US is a good partner, you know, once there, and it is there for the long haul. Once again, will African leaders trust what America is saying? You know, I'll let you be the judge of that. But here's the thing. After decades of losing the ground to China and the turmoil of what happened with the former president, Donald Trump, that is, because the former president threatened to slash aid and roll back military support, which will be a tough sell, or was a tough sell anyway. Let alone the big thing that former president said about Africa is considered the S-word hole. I can't say that word here because they don't use these terms here. So you got the idea. So Africa is ever more important at the global level than anybody has anticipated. And why is this? Because with African continent larger than the United States, China India, Japan, and most of Europe combined. Yeah, let that sink in. So more than half of the world arable land is located in Africa, along with many of the other planet's untapped mineral resources, including strategic minerals. Yeah, that is the reason why Janet Yellen is there to pave the way So whether it's gonna work or not, I can't attest to that. But, and here's the thing, just FYI, by 2100, by the end of this century here, Africa population could double, could double by 2050 to about 2.5 billion people. So, and, and the continent Africa, that is based on stat that I looked at, sort of is, has a young population of about 41% under the age of 15. So it's a vibrant population in whole Africa. So the potentials are there for Africa if it played, if it plays its strategic cards the right way. So I did argue in my book, I did once argue here that both Russia and China have long recognized, uh, uh, the political, military, and economic importance of Africa. And both countries, Russia and China— that's why they are in Africa— both countries continue to seize the opportunities to expand their influence across the continent. Do you blame them? It's a strategic move. You know, you take the example of China. China growing economic and securing influence in African continent has become a growing concern for the United States. That is again the reason why Janet Yellen is in Africa. Meanwhile, China has overtaken the US as Africa's largest trading partner, and this is— didn't happen last year or the year before, that was since 2008 or 2009. That's how far back it goes. So with the bilateral trade, uh, that, that is more than $254 billion. That was just last year, in 2021. And I will provide your link to all this because that trade between China and Africa went up by about 35% from 2020 to 2021. So you can just see why the United States has sort of— is playing catch-up, you know. So once again, I did argue this in my book here, you know, because speaking of Africa, we should not be surprised to learn how eager Russia is to establish also a foothold in Africa, following in the footsteps of China. So because Russia also had a plan to establish some logistic base in Eritrea, yeah, which would give Russia access to the Red Sea. If you get access to the water, you always have an advantage. So, so to show you how much the United States wants Africa, Yellen trip— Janet Yellen, that is— kicks off a year a whole year high-level U.S. visits to Africa. And those visits will include the president himself, President Biden, Vice President Biden, okay, the trade representative, U.S. trade representative Katherine Tai, and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. Yeah, all of them is going to be going to Africa within a year. And, uh, today on January 28th In Senegal, Janet Yellen warned Africa against, and I put this in quote, shiny deals that may be opaque and ultimately fail to actually benefit the people, end of quote. It's basically accusing China of, uh, has, uh, yeah, accusing China of dragging its feet on critical debt restructuring in Zambia. Yeah, but we have to look at the other side of the— the other, uh, face of the coin. You know, U.S. fiscal policy is creating its own drag. African countries have become collateral victims of this year's rate hikes by the United States Federal Reserve, which is aimed at curbing inflation at home here in the U.S., but it's causing havoc in other countries. So tightening the financial conditions and the appreciating of the US dollar have had dire consequences for most African economies. So yeah, this is exactly what is happening there. So, so the cost of debt service is expected to hit $25 billion next year, according to the World Bank. You know, this is an up from $21.4 billion in 2022. And again, I will provide you a link to all this. In local currency terms, what does it mean? It means that it's risen even faster, increasing the risk of debt distress. That's what it means. The other aspect of this trip is that Janet Yellen, the Treasury Secretary, is going to South Africa. Why is he going there? What is going to send a message to, to South African government? Because the US is not happy about the upcoming naval drills between South Africa, China, and Russia. Yeah, and I did a video on this. Yeah, I will release it to you at some point. So that is the reason why it is doing this one here, because that is why she's going to South Africa. So, so here's my conclusion for you, you know. It behooves the United States to prepare the next generation of leaders to be fluent in foreign languages and acquainted with cultures, comfortable with digital world, and deeply committed to understanding the changes within global landscape, because dealing with the challenges is no easy task. It's not enough to just take a trip. The president takes trip to Africa and think that Africans gonna bow to the American president. No way. That era is gone. So, and if the United States wants to compete in the 21st century, it needs to get its house in order first before it dictates to other world, to other countries in the world, what to do. No, I hope you'll find this very informative. And as always, remember, geopolitics impacts your daily life in more ways than one. Till next time, guys, bye-bye.
