The United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken has hailed members of African in Diaspora for returning to their various countries to empower their people.
Blinken who gave the applause at the African and Diaspora Young Leaders Forum for US-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington DC on Tuesday, said the importance of the diaspora is to the past, the present, the future of both African nations and America.
According to him, “This past August, I was in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and I met with someone who may be familiar to some of you, a certain NBA Hall of Famer, Dikembe Mutombo, whose foundation has provided high-quality health care to over 30,000 patients, regardless of their economic status”.
He recalled early this year in South Africa on how he had an opportunity to set out the administration’s new strategy for sub-Saharan Africa. “It’s a strategy rooted in one key word – partnership and in recognition that we can’t solve any of our shared priorities unless we work together.
“And it’s a strategy that recognizes the immense role that the African diaspora and young people will play in shaping and strengthening that partnership. Back in August I had a chance to meet with members of the diaspora and African‑American youth leaders right here in Washington to hear a little bit about some of the work that they were doing.
“One young leader, who has mobilized climate finance to make the water sector more resilient in South Africa, is now sharing the lessons that she learned at a U.S. government agency. Another, fresh off her experience fighting infectious disease in Malawi, was sharing her insights with nonprofits and businesses in the United States.
“Others were expanding educational opportunities for children, conducting environmental research, creating job opportunities for youth in both African countries and the United States, and demonstrating exactly why the diaspora is such an unparalleled asset for people on both continents”.
He applauded these interconnections, the back and forth, and the benefits that flow to African nations and the United States alike which he described as so incredibly powerful, adding that United States is committed to ensuring that young people can continue to bring their talents and hard work to the benefit of people across the continent and to the benefit of people in the United States.
Blinken revealed that there are number of programs that improving skills of young people in America such as the Young African Leaders Initiative and through American economic development programs, like the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs program.
He further said since the inception of the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs program in 2019, it has provided more than 5,400 women throughout Africa with the training and the networks that they need to start and to scale small businesses.
The Secretary of State noted that additional investments will be made to make it easier for students to participate in exchange programs between the countries, to increase trade opportunities for members of the African diaspora, and to support African entrepreneurs and small businesses.
“Each of these investments is guided by one overarching goal: to continue building our partnership so that we can better address the shared challenges we face. And ultimately, we can build a safer, more secure, more prosperous future for all of us”, Blinken said.