WEDNESDAY LOCDOWN SESSION-US PLEDGES STRONG SECURITY PARTNERSHIP WITH SOME AFRICAN COUNTRIES

The State Department announced on Thursday that Blinken will go to Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Angola starting Sunday for talks focused on regional security, conflict prevention, democracy promotion and trade.

Nigeria is West Africa's regional heavyweight and plays a major role in security issues, especially those involving Islamic extremist violence in the Sahel, the vast arid expanse south of the Sahara Desert.