Africa has other friends if Trump won’t work with us, says Kenya’s African Union candidate

Africa has other friends if Trump won’t work with us, says Kenya’s African Union candidate
Africa has other friends if Trump won’t work with us, says Kenya’s African Union candidate

Hello and welcome to the details of Africa has other friends if won’t work with us, says Kenya’s African Union candidate and now with the details

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - People watch a television screen during a US Election party hosted by Democrats Abroad Kenya, in Nairobi on November 6, 2024, after US Republican candidate Donald Trump claimed victory. — AFP pic

ADDIS ABABA, Nov 10 — Kenya’s candidate for the top job at the African Union said Saturday that if US president-elect Donald Trump does not want to work with Africa, the continent has “other friends”.

Raila Odinga, a veteran Kenyan politician, is one of four candidates vying to replace Moussa Faki Mahamat as African Union Commission chair next year.

“I don’t want to prejudge him,” Odinga said of Trump in an interview with AFP in Addis Ababa following the Republican’s emphatic election win this week.

“If he wants to work with Africa as a friend of Africa, we will welcome him and work with him,” the 79-year-old added.

“If he does not want to work with Africa... Africa has got other friends.”

The continent of around 1.5 billion people is often competed over for influence by the West as well as by China, Russia and Turkey.

Many African leaders issued swift congratulations to Trump, even though during his first term from 2017-2021 he described African nations and Haiti as “shithole” countries.

Asked about those remarks, Odinga said: “No, it doesn’t worry me at all because that was Trump then. This is now another new Trump. So we want to see the new Trump, the one we are going to deal with.”

He reiterated: “I don’t want to prejudge him. I want him to first pronounce himself on Africa and how he wants to work with Africa.”

Kenyan President William Ruto, who narrowly defeated Odinga in the country’s 2022 election but has gone on to back his rival’s campaign for the AU, spoke by phone with Trump on Friday.

Ruto said they discussed “areas of mutual interest” including trade and investment, security and good governance, as well as Kenya’s role leading a UN-backed mission to try to quell rampant gang violence in Haiti.

Odinga, who has failed in five bids to win the Kenyan presidency, also left the door open to another run for the job in 2027, but said he was currently focused on his AU candidacy.

He faces a stiff challenge for the role from Djibouti’s long-serving Foreign Minister Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, while two other candidates have also thrown their hats into the ring — Anil Gayan from Mauritius and Richard Randriamandrato of Madagascar.

The election will take place by secret ballot during the February 2025 summit of the pan-African body. — AFP

These were the details of the news Africa has other friends if Trump won’t work with us, says Kenya’s African Union candidate for this day. We hope that we have succeeded by giving you the full details and information. To follow all our news, you can subscribe to the alerts system or to one of our different systems to provide you with all that is new.

It is also worth noting that the original news has been published and is available at Malay Mail and the editorial team at AlKhaleej Today has confirmed it and it has been modified, and it may have been completely transferred or quoted from it and you can read and follow this news from its main source.

PREV Israel’s Netanyahu says he gave go-ahead for Lebanon pager attacks that killed nearly 40, wounded thousands others
NEXT Explainer: What legal grounds does the UN have to oppose Israel’s ban on UNRWA and what could it mean for Gaza?

Author Information

I am Joshua Kelly and I focus on breaking news stories and ensuring we (“Al-KhaleejToday.NET”) offer timely reporting on some of the most recent stories released through market wires about “Services” sector. I have formerly spent over 3 years as a trader in U.S. Stock Market and is now semi-stepped down. I work on a full time basis for Al-KhaleejToday.NET specializing in quicker moving active shares with a short term view on investment opportunities and trends. Address: 838 Emily Drive Hampton, SC 29924, USA Phone: (+1) 803-887-5567 Email: [email protected]