The U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, is reportedly set to visit Asia and South Africa, the Department of State announced last Friday. 

Blinken’s Asia and Africa visit announcement came on the heels of another high-profile state visit by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi this week. It is unclear when Pelosi, who has reportedly landed in Singapore, Monday dawn, will actually land in Taiwan, but reports suggest she might land in the island nation morning as soon as Tuesday evening. 

Both Blinken and Pelosi’s visits come amid a time when three of the world’s largest economies—the US, China, and Russia, all nuclear superpowers—are pushing to influence the global South. 

Mr. Blinken, who has been hailed as an influential figure under the Biden Administration, is due to set foot in a complicated Asia facing an expansive China, tensions in Taiwan, an authoritarian regime in Myanmar, the COVID-19 pandemic, and climate change, among other issues. 

Blinken is supposed to hold talks about all these crises during his visit. Mr. Blinken will also uphold the U.S. policy toward South African nations, which will be followed by a visit to the contested regions of the DRC and Rwanda.  

According to the circulation released by the U.S. Department of State, Mr. Blinken will first arrive in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. 

He is expected to partake in three separate ministerials from August 3-5, hosted by Cambodia as ASEAN chair this year. The State Dept. said in a statement that Blinken will “emphasize the United States’ commitment to ASEAN centrality and successful implementation of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific.” 

Relations between Phnom Penh and Washington are under pressure thanks to China’s growing influence in Cambodia. 

Blinken will potentially meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who are expected to attend the ASEAN meeting in Cambodia. 

Following his Cambodia visit, Blinken is scheduled to travel to the Philippine capital of Manila on August 6, where he will meet with President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos and Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo to explore initiatives to fortify the U.S.-Philippine partnership through trade and energy.

From August 7 to August 11, Blinken will visit South Africa, where he is expected to introduce the U.S. Strategy for Sub-Saharan Africa. 

The U.S. strategy affirms that African nations are geostrategic players and essential allies in addressing today’s pressing problems, such as promoting an open and stable international order, combating the effects of climate change, food insecurity, and global pandemics, and determining the future in terms of technology and the economy.

Blinken will reportedly serve as the head of the American delegation for the U.S.-South Africa Strategic Dialogue in Pretoria. He will also participate in the National Women’s Day ceremony in Johannesburg, South Africa.

From August 9-10, Blinken will meet the DRC government’s senior officials and members of civil society to discuss free and fair 2023 elections, promoting human rights, and protecting fundamental freedoms in the socially unstable region, among other aspects. 

Finally, Mr. Blinken will visit senior Rwandan government officials and members of civil society on August 10 and 11. The U.S. Secretary of State will concentrate on what the Rwandan government can do to ease tensions and stop the current bloodshed in eastern DRC.

In Rwanda, Blinken is reportedly expected to highlight the “wrongful detention,” of a permanent U.S. resident, Paul Rusesabagina. 

Rusesabagina, 67, was slammed with 25 years in prison over eight charges of terrorism against the erstwhile Rwandan President Paul Kagame’s regime that he has denied as a political farce.