WASHINGTON ¨C U.S. President Donald Trump¡¯s mass recall of ambassadors will leave Washington without top-level presence in more than half of the countries in sub-Saharan Africa, complicating America¡¯s efforts to push its agenda in a region that has faced military coups and devastating conflicts in recent years.
Since taking office, the administration has worked to implement its business-focused diplomacy in Africa, shifting the U.S. priority from aid to trade. Trump has sought to broker peace accords and rare-earth deals and has struck bilateral agreements instead of providing direct foreign assistance.
Trump has touted the U.S. as a better partner to African countries than China, saying he was committed to ?strengthening friendships in the region in the latest effort by successive U.S. administrations to counter perceptions of U.S. neglect of a continent where China has increasingly made economic inroads.
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