United State is ‘all in’ on Africa’s future, says Joe Biden

• First US-Africa summit brought Joe Biden together with 49 African leaders.
• He promised to continue US investments in Africa.

At a summit with the leaders of the continent, US Vice President Joe Biden offered billions of dollars in assistance and investment for Africa.

“The United States is all in on Africa’s future,” President Biden told the 49 African leaders attending the Washington DC meeting.

After eight years, Washington is hosting the first event of its kind.

The summit is viewed as a US effort to reassert its influence in Africa to oppose Chinese involvement.

It also follows Donald Trump’s four-year administration, during which he alienated a number of African leaders with his policy choices and offensive remarks.

Unlike his predecessor, Mr. Biden adopted a far more upbeat tone as he told the audience that enhanced ties with Africa “The United States benefits when Africa does well. To be completely honest, success is experienced by everyone.”

He pledged to continue on the “important” investments made in Africa by previous US administrations and claimed that the issues the globe is currently facing require African leadership, ideas, and solutions.

To that goal, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan announced the US would allocate $55 billion (£44 billion) to Africa over the ensuing three years in advance of the three-day summit, which finishes on Thursday.

The summit’s discussions have centered on expanding upon currently running program, such as:

• In 2018, the US government established Prosper Africa, a program “to boost two-way trade” between the US and African countries.
• The Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), signed into law during the Bush administration and giving African clothing producers priority access to the US market;
• Among other things, President Obama’s Power Africa effort connected millions of Africans to the grid.
Advertisement

However, it has taken some time for these program to become successful. Only slightly more than 1% of US international trade, which is primarily comprised of petroleum imports from Angola and Nigeria, goes to Africa.

The US president mentioned a $500 million investment to lower transportation costs at a crucial port in Benin, West Africa, in his speech on Wednesday.

Additionally, he stated that $15 billion worth of deals had been made during the US-Africa Business Forum and that $350 million will be spent to support the digital economy.

The US is also set to sign a memorandum with the African Continental Free Trade Area – one of the world’s biggest free-trade areas – which Mr. Biden said would “unlock new opportunities for trade and investment” between the US and Africa.

On Wednesday, Mr. Biden visited separately with the six heads of state of the African countries holding elections in 2023 to urge for democratic elections.

The US president is also anticipated to support the African Union’s entry as a permanent member of the Group of 20 major economies before the summit concludes on Thursday. He might also reveal plans to visit the continent in the coming months.

Also Read

Joe Biden announces his support for African Union in summit

Joe Biden supports the African Union's G20 participation. In Washington, DC, for...