Senator Coons embarked on his chairmanship of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Subcommittee on African Affairs by holding its first nominations hearing of the 112th Congress. Appearing before the Subcommittee were President Obama’s nominees to serve as our ambassadors to Kenya and Botswana. Chris is the only freshman member of the Senate to lead a subcommittee in the 112th Congress.
Chris’s opening statement focused on Africa’s importance as a place of strategic importance for our national security, of expanding markets, and of emerging democratic institutions. He further cited the many challenges still facing the continent, in particular those of human rights abuses, obstacles to health care access, and widespread poverty.
Drawing on his own experiences in Africa, Chris said:
Africa is a continent of tremendous strategic importance to the United States and the world, and I am extremely grateful to Senator Kerry and my colleagues on the Committee for entrusting me with the gavel.
I look forward to working with my friend Senator Isakson to accomplish a shared vision and strategic goals, and hope to serve as a model for bipartisan cooperation on issues pertaining to Africa in the 112th Congress and beyond.
…While different countries with divergent histories, accomplishments and challenges, the issues we will discuss today in the context of Botswana and Kenya – governance, democratic institutions, health initiatives, human rights, trade, counterterrorism, U.S. interests and a broader regional strategy – will serve as focal points for the Africa Subcommittee.
Kenya has special meaning for me, as I developed a deep interest in Africa during my junior year of college when studying at the University of Nairobi and traveling through Kenya and Tanzania to immerse myself in African culture. After college, I wrote about anti-apartheid divestiture strategies while serving as an analyst for a research center in Washington. I subsequently returned to Africa on behalf of the South African Council of Churches, so my ties to both Kenya and Africa are both professional and personal.
President Obama has nominated former U.S. Air Force Major General J. Scott Gration to serve as Ambassador to Kenya. Previously, Gen. Gration was the President’s special envoy to the Sudan, where he played an important role in that country’s recent steps toward peaceful referendum on Southern Sudan’s independence. For the top post at our mission in Botswana, the President nominated Michelle Gavin, until recently the Senior Director for Africa at the National Security Council. Both would bring considerable experience and deep knowledge of the continent to their jobs if confirmed.