DAKAR, SENEGAL: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday promised new investment in Senegal in a bid to showcase democracy’s benefits as he wrapped up his first visit to Africa. The top US diplomat has sought to offer a more nuanced take on the growing US rivalry with China, by showing how the US can offer partnerships without overtly pressing African leaders to shun their ever-growing commercial links with the Asian power. During a visit to Senegal, Blinken took part in the signing of contracts worth $1 billion with US companies. They included a technology contract with public security services and a project to reduce traffic jams through better road development. He also visited the Institut Pasteur where he promised support to help Africans make their own vaccines. “We firmly believe that it is long past time to start treating African countries and institutions as the major geopolitical players that they’ve become,” he said. In a speech in Nigeria on Friday, Blinken had said there was no need for Africans to choose partners, a sentiment welcomed by Senegalese Foreign Minister Aissata Tall Sall. Blinken also took time to warn Moscow that Washington was closely monitoring the activities of the shadowy Russian mercenary group Wagner in Mali. He backed the recent sanctions imposed by the West African economic bloc ECOWAS against key members of Mali’s military junta there to try to force them to hold promised elections early next year.