WASHINGTON, June 25: It is a comparison President Barack Obama may not relish: when it comes to Africa, he’s no Bill Clinton. Or even George W Bush for that matter.
Obama makes his first extended trip to Africa tomorrow. After the sky-high expectations raised by his election in 2008, Obama now faces the prospect of trying to convince Africans that the United States has vital interests there that it intends to safeguard and pursue.
“The African leaders, the African public have been wondering where the US president has been,” said Ben Leo, global policy director for the anti-poverty group ONE.
“This trip has been designed to address some of those perceptions, those concerns, hopefully reset the engagement trajectory over next couple of years.”
Obama’s trip risks being overshadowed by the deteriorating health of South Africa’s national hero and revered former leader, Nelson Mandela, who is approaching his 95th birthday.
Mandela’s decline could dwarf other topics. Madiba, as he is known by his clan name, is adored by most of South Africa’s 53 million people as the architect of the 1994 transition to multi-racial democracy after three centuries of white domination.
Mandela spent his second week in a hospital, where his condition was described as “critical.”
The White House has said Obama will defer to the wishes of the Mandela family with regard to any meetings.
“We’ll be in touch with them,” said White House foreign policy adviser Ben Rhodes. “If he has an opportunity to see the family in some capacity, that’s certainly something that we may do.”
Obama may also face questions about the exposure of classified information by former US government contractor Edward Snowden, which has forced the president to defend widespread government surveillance of Internet and phone data.
The furor over Snowden’s disclosures could drown out issues Obama wants to spotlight on the trip, particularly Africa’s potential as a business and trade partner for the United States.
Still, Obama’s weeklong visit may afford him a chance to reverse some of the criticism that his administration has failed to launch any of the grand health or trade initiatives in Africa that his two predecessors accomplished.
In the absence of US involvement, other countries, particularly China, have aggressively pursued business opportunities on the continent.
“This is a place where the United States needs to be present, and we’re very pleased that early in the second term, we can send a signal of increased US engagement through this trip,” said Rhodes.
(AGENCIES)
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