United States: US-Africa Summit, 49 African Heads of Government are expected

President Joe Biden will host the second U.S.-Africa summit in mid-December 2022. The focus will be on eight areas: economic engagement; peace, security and good governance; democracy and human rights; regional and global health security including COVID-19 recovery and pandemic preparedness; food security; climate change; links with the diaspora; and youth education and leadership. Of the 55 African heads of government, 49 were invited to the US-Africa summit. Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali and Sudan are currently suspended from the African Union due to coups, and have therefore not been invited. Western Sahara officially called the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, although a member of the African Union, is not recognized by the United States and has therefore not been invited. The United States does not have an exchange of ambassadors with Eritrea, The first edition of this US-Africa summit was held in 2014, during President Barack Obama’s second term. The convening of this second summit may suggest that Africa is important to the current US administration. The meeting does not have a specific theme, but a side event on space is welcome.For Africa, space is one of the flagship programs of Agenda 2063, while for the United States, space is a critical area because a degradation or denial of access to its satellite infrastructure would have a huge impact on its national security, economy and people’s livelihoods. It is therefore important to align the priorities and interests of the United States and Africa for the planned meeting to be successful.

Joe Biden, who entered the White House in January 2021, has not yet visited Africa as president of the United States while he has made trips to Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Much of his diplomatic efforts have so far been to promote unity among Western democracies vis-à-vis China, but the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the December summit was not just about Beijing.

Miss OLY