The US-Africa Summit kicked off on Tuesday, with the announcement of the administration of US President Joe Biden to allocate $55 billion to finance initiatives related to food security, health care, infrastructure, digital technology, security and governance, in addition to other projects in the areas of renewable energy and combating climate change.
Biden will meet on Wednesday with African leaders and will announce his country’s pledges to achieve development in the continent. The White House will also organize a dinner party for all leaders participating in the summit.
The US president is also expected to announce a foreign tour that will include a number of African countries at the beginning of 2023, with the aim of deepening relations.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has noted that there would be a commitment by administration officials to travel to the African continent during 2023.
Dana Banks, Biden’s Special Assistant and NSC Special Adviser for the African Leaders Summit, said that Biden would sign an executive order to establish an advisory council to manage the affairs of African expatriates in the United States, and to advise the president on a number of issues.
Senegalese President Macky Sall, who holds the rotating presidency of the African Union, pointed to the importance that the US give up lecturing and take the initiative to become a strategic partner “without anyone telling us what to do or not… We want to work and trade with everyone.”
Several African countries have expressed their desire to see a tangible US commitment in terms of debt relief and compensation for losses and damages to the African continent from climate change and carbon emissions caused by rich and industrialized countries, such as the US, China and European countries.
Leaders and representatives of 49 African countries continued to arrive at Andrews Military Air Base on Tuesday.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin received African leaders, businessmen, and heads of civil society organizations participating in the summit, which is being held at the Convention Center in downtown Washington, DC.
During a session of trade ministers on Tuesday, the participants discussed the extension of trade agreements between the US and Africa based on the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which was enacted by former US President Bill Clinton to grant African countries some advantages and tax exemptions.
Countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya and South Africa have taken advantage of this law to facilitate access to the US market.
During the sessions of civil society organizations, participants from Kenya and Nigeria demanded US assurances to fight militants and terrorist groups in Somalia and the Sahel region, and to implement development projects.
The first day of the summit also witnessed the signing of an agreement on space cooperation to meet the challenges of the 21st century, and to respond to climate and food crises.
The agreement stipulates the use of satellites to provide geographic solutions that help meet the priorities of resource and forest management and renewable energy.
The Biden administration has faced criticism, as none of the senior foreign policy officials visited Africa during the first nine months of its term, in contrast to dozens of trips to Europe and Southeast Asia. Biden held phone conversations with only three leaders of the continent and visited only Egypt during the Climate Summit (COP27).
In an attempt to avoid criticism, Blinken conducted a number of trips to Africa, the last of which was in August, when he announced the new US strategy for Africa.
During a press conference at the White House on Monday, Sullivan announced that the US administration approved the allocation of $55 billion over the next three years, to finance initiatives and agreements that will be announced by the summit, stressing that Biden would take advantage of the AU meeting to announce his support for adding the African Union as a permanent member of the Group of Twenty.
The president also plans to underscore his commitment to reforming the UN Security Council and to allocate a permanent membership for the African continent.
“This summit will underscore the value the United States places on our collaboration with Africa on the most pressing global challenges and opportunities, as well as on the Biden administration’s commitment to revitalizing global partnerships and alliances,” US Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told journalists at the White House last week.
“We expect to engage a wide range of African and US stakeholders to illustrate the breadth and the depth of American partnerships with African governments, businesses, civil — civil society, and citizens — partnerships based on dialogue that harness the creativity of the peoples — of our peoples,” she added.
