Antony Blinken has arrived in Niger, becoming the first U.S. secretary of state to ever visit the former French colony. Blinken’s visit comes as the United States is openly vying with China and Russia for influence across Africa.
Niger has become a critical U.S. ally in the Sahel region, which has seen recent military coups in Mali and Burkina Faso. In 2019, the U.S. opened a new drone base in the capital of Agadez. The U.S. also has about 800 military personnel in Niger. The U.S. military presence in Niger made headlines in 2017 when four U.S. special forces and five soldiers from Niger were killed in an ambush.
Niger also remains one of the poorest nations in the world. In the United Nations Development Program’s most recent Human Development Index, Niger ranks 189th of 191 countries, with only neighboring Chad and nearby newly formed, war-ravaged South Sudan below it. Eighty percent of Niger lies within the Sahara Desert. Life expectancy is only 60 years old,
— source democracynow.org | Mar 16, 2023