United States Secretary of State, Anthony Bliken, has said America is committed to lasting peace and security in Africa.
Bliken made this statement on Tuesday in Abuja after meeting with President Bola Tinubu during his visit to Nigeria as part of his tour of African nations.
He, however, said the initiatives of America would greatly be based on the region’s dependable efforts at ensuring safety of civilian populations.
“Having said that, it’s important that we work to support our partners who are trying to find effective ways of providing security, and we are working to support Nigeria, to support our Lake Chad region partners.
“Working with local communities, in partnership, demonstrating the security forces that are there, first and foremost, to protect them and to support their needs,” he said.
According to him, the US was worried about the security challenges faced by Africa in securing the region from extreme terrorism, violence and other criminal activities that affected the people.
He lamented insecurity and resorted to undemocratic means of changing democratically elected leaders like the situation in Niger Republic.
Bliken said the synergy between African countries and America must be based on critical regional strategies to address these situations.
America committed to peace, security in Africa – Bliken