3 days ago
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Kenya’s candidate for the top job at the African Union Commission, Raila Odinga, has said that if United States President-elect Donald Trump does not want to engage with Africa, the continent has “other friends” willing to step in.
In an interview with AFP in Addis Ababa on Saturday, Odinga, a veteran Kenyan politician, expressed cautious optimism about Trump’s stance on Africa following his victory in the US presidential election.
Odinga, who is one of four candidates vying to replace Moussa Mahamat as the head of the African Union Commission next year, said that while he does not want to prejudge Trump, Africa is open to working with the U.S. if the president-elect is willing.
“I don’t want to prejudge him,” Odinga said. “If he wants to work with Africa as a friend of Africa, we will welcome him and work with him. If he does not want to work with Africa… Africa has got other friends.”
Odinga’s comments came amid ongoing competition for influence in Africa, a continent of over 1.5 billion people, with powers such as China, Russia, and Turkey all vying for partnerships alongside Western nations.
Despite Trump’s controversial remarks during his first term, where he referred to African countries as “shithole” nations, Odinga appeared untroubled.
“No, it doesn’t worry me at all because that was Trump then. This is now another new Trump. So, we want to see the new Trump, the one we are going to deal with,” Odinga stated.
The 79-year-old politician, who has run unsuccessfully for the Kenyan presidency five times, is now focusing on his campaign for the African Union Commission chair.
He is facing strong competition from Mahamoud Youssouf, Djibouti’s long-serving foreign minister, along with Anil Gayan from Mauritius and Richard Randriamandrato of Madagascar.
The election for the new African Union Commission chair will take place by secret ballot during the February 2025 summit.
