President Barack Obama heads to Tanzania on Monday, on the last leg of an African tour in which ailing Nelson Mandela's offstage presence complicated a key US diplomatic push in a rising continent.
Mr Obama warned on Sunday that Africa could only fulfill its destiny with leaders who strive to improve the lives of their people, and his stop in Tanzania is intended to boost a democracy viewed with approval in Washington.
He will be hot on the heels of Chinese President Xi Jinping, who included Tanzania on his first overseas tour in March. Talk of an economic rivalry in Africa between Washington and Beijing has been a theme of Mr Obama's trip.
Mr Obama spent the weekend paying homage to Mr Mandela, the political hero who drew him into politics, on an ascent that led him to become the first black president in America, a country, like South Africa, with a tainted racial past.
No comments:
Post a Comment