Africa: U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit – What Are the Stakes?

The US-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington this week is a chance for the US and countries in Africa to move closer to ‘win-win’ partnerships, analysts say.

Some analysts in Africa say the continent’s leaders must push for fair trade deals and better economic partnerships with the United States when they gather in Washington this week.

About 50 high level African delegations are expected at the US-Africa Leaders Summit convened by the Biden administration.

Economic and political analysts in Africa agree that the continent’s leaders should make their presence felt at the gathering.

“It should not be about just a matter of attending the summit. We should know what we want. We need to tell them that yes, we are ready to do business with them,” said Dr. Daniel Amateye Anim, an Accra-based economist.

Negotiating fair economic deals to improve economies in Africa should be a priority, Anim told DW.

Nairobi-based political analyst, Martin Adat, said African leaders should not attend the summit as “beggars.”

“They should go in for a form of partnership which creates a win-win situation,” Adat told DW.

Since 2000, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) has been at the core of US economic policy and commercial engagement with Africa. It provides eligible countries in sub-Saharan Africa with duty-free access to US markets for over 1,800 products.

According to Dr. Anim, Africa did not explore AGOA to the maximum potential. It is due to run until 2025 but there are indications that the Biden administration might want to improve on it to tap into Africa’s expanding integration.

US trails China in trade with Africa

AGOA has been overtaken by developments in Africa, according to Adat. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the largest of its kind in the worlkd, came into effect on January 1, 2021. In addition, China’s engagement and influence in Africa has grown and overtaken that of the US.

“AGOA is no more effective like it was under President [Bill] Clinton. It has a big impact then but now most of things which are being exported, they are not even produced on the continent. The raw materials are coming from China,” Adat said.

China’s foreign direct investment in Africa is nearly double that of the US. The Asian giant is also the largest lender around the continent.

According to the US Congressional Research Service, Chinese deals with 632 businesses in in Africa totaled $735 billion in 2020. The previous year, 800 trade and investment deals across 45 countries were valued at $50 billion. CRS data also shows the US invested $22 billion in 80 companies in Africa over the same period.

The US has repeatedly warned Africa over its engagement with China and Russia. The matter is expected to come up at the summit this week.

“The Chinese have overrun the Americans and now the Western world led by the US is trying to find a way of getting back into Africa to be able have its presence felt,” Adat said.

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for African Affairs Chidi Blyden, at a media briefing last week, conceded that US will have to review its position on Africa and the kind of partnerships it can establish.

“We have been told by our African partners – and we completely agree – that they don’t want to have to choose between working with the United States, other international partners, and China. And we respect that,” Blyden said.

“I’m open to understanding more about what our African partners need, and we’ll learn a little bit of that from the Africa Leaders Summit.”

Blyden added that US officials meeting with African leaders would be “listening and understanding where we can fill in the gaps or where we can work and complement other partners that they’re working with, to include China.”

Dr. Anim, the Ghanaian economist, suggests that Africa could exploit the US- China-Russia divide. “In fact, they [US] are not too comfortable with China and that of Russia’s presence on the continent so we should use it as a tool to attract more funding.”

Security, COVID recover and food

The issue of security, especially in the Great Lakes, Horn of Africa and Sahel regions, should be discussed at the summit, Adat, the Kenyan political analyst said.

“The Americans are very keen especially in the Horn of Africa where they have a certain interest. The instability in Somalia has affected the way the Americans do some of their things,” Adat told DW.

According to Blyden, the US does not intend to focus entirely on a military approach to ending security crises on the continent. “Ware trying to learn from past efforts in the Sahel and ensure that we have engagement, partnership, and collaboration with our African partners to do this.”

The first US-Africa Leaders Summit was held in 2014 with initiatives in energy, financial services, climate change, food security and health care on the table.

Similar issues are on the summit schedule this year, with an even greater emphasis on bilateral trade and investment initiatives, according to the White House.

The African Union this week said the US-Africa Leaders Summit would include new initiatives to increase US engagement with the AfCFTAIt noted that talks would center on initiatives to boost Africa’s recovery after the pandemic, bolster food security and promote investment in infrastructure, heal and renewable energy projects.”

Coup regimes excluded

Five countries were not invited to the summit. The White House named them as Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea and Sudan and said they were excluded because the AU had suspended them over recent coups.

Eritrea has also been excluded since it has no no diplomatic relations with the US.

But the African delegations due in Washington on Tuesday will include the heads of state of key countries including Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, Angola. The chairman of the African Union’s executive body, Moussa Faki Mahamat will be in attendance too.

Alexandria WIlliams in Washington contributed to this article

Edited by: Benita van Eyssen

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