JOHANNESBURG (AP) — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in South Africa on Sunday to kick off a three-country tour of Africa.
The tour is seen as a competition between Russia and Western powers for the political support of African countries in the dispute over the war in Ukraine. Blinken’s trip follows others by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and French President Emmanuel Macron.
South Africa is one of many African countries that have maintained neutrality in the Ukrainian conflict, refraining from public criticism of Russia.
On the Sunday after arriving in South Africa, Blinken went to the Hector Pieterson memorial in Soweto, which commemorates a student killed in 1976 in anti-apartheid protests.
Blinken laid a wreath at the monument accompanied by Pieterson’s sister, Antoinette Sithole. He visited the nearby museum that contains photos, artifacts and videos from the fight against apartheid.
“Hector’s story is one that really endures because we too have our own fight for freedom and equality in America, and South Africa’s story is unique but there are a lot of common elements,” said Blinken.
Sithole, who also participated in the 1976 protests, said the museum highlights the role of South African youth in the fight against white minority rule.
On Monday, the US diplomat is scheduled to explain US policies toward sub-Saharan Africa in a talk at the University of Pretoria.
Africa has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and price increases due to the war in Ukraine.
Blinken will then visit the Congo and Rwanda, ending an international tour that also took him to Cambodia and the Philippines.