Thwarting Tehran by Creating Prosperity in Africa

Originally published by Breaking Defense

President Donald Trump’s historic visit to the Middle East, the first planned overseas visit of his second term, focused on deepening commercial and cultural ties — investments that not only increase mutual prosperity but also send a strong message to adversaries that their tactics and ambitions will not work.

A similar opportunity exists across Africa, where America’s adversaries are both a present and future danger to US interests. Investing smartly in Africa could lead to wins, both economic and in terms of national security, for the administration.

While the continent has perhaps understandably taken a back seat to urgent crises in other parts of the world, Africa has long been the focus of adversarial regimes in Moscow and Beijing. Since 2017, both China and Russia have maintained a significant presence in the region. China’s military maintains a key support base in Djibouti, while Russian-contracted private military contractors (PMCs) have a well-established presence in Djibouti, Sudan, the Central African Republic, Somalia, and Mali.

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