Headline Roundup • December 14th, 2022
How Will the Africa Leaders Summit Change US-Africa Relations?
Summary from the AllSides News Team
The three-day U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit began Tuesday in Washington, D.C., with leaders of 49 African nations and the African Union invited to engage with U.S. leaders about two-way trade and investment opportunities. What will this mean for U.S.-Africa relations going forward?
For Context: According to the United Nations, more than half of Africa’s 54 nations will double in population by 2050, and by that time, roughly 25% of the world's population will live on the continent. That growth has attracted large outside investments from China, which put over $23 billion into the continent between 2007 and 2020. Ahead of the summit, the U.S. committed $55 billion to Africa over the next three years.
Where People Agree: Voices across the spectrum framed the summit as a step toward better recognition of African nations in international decision-making and development, especially amid concerns from some that the U.S. hasn't paid adequate attention to the continent. Many agreed that the U.S. was using the summit as an opportunity to pitch its global investing potential as an alternative to China's.
Where People Disagree: Most analyses and opinions came from the political center and left, reflecting division in whether different sides of the spectrum consider the summit important. One writer featured in The Washington Times called on Biden to rescind Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari's invitation, on the grounds that his human rights record is "atrocious" and that his government violently targets Christians.
Featured Coverage of this Story
Greg Groesch/The Washington Times
This week, scores of African leaders will convene in Washington at the behest of the State Department for its Africa Leaders Summit. The summit’s purpose is to strengthen U.S.-Africa ties on various local and global issues.
While this summit represents a fantastic opportunity for African leaders to voice their needs, concerns and hopes for the continent, as well as rub shoulders with American and international political and policy leaders, we call on the summit not to forget the interests of Africans who will not have a voice there, especially the...
Leon Neal/Pool via Reuters
Starting on Tuesday, United States President Joe Biden is hosting African presidents, prime ministers and monarchs for a US-Africa Leaders’ Summit. In the past, such glittering meetings have often devolved into neo-colonial lectures, with African leaders passively listening to the US president hypocritically say out vague notions of spreading “liberal democracy” values.
But times have changed. For all its challenges, Africa’s global stature is at its most attractive in modern history – and our leaders must drive a hard financial bargain with the US, extracting maximum value for the continent through their negotiations and...
Photo: Chip Somodevilla (Getty Images)
The US has a shot at rekindling its relationship with Africa next week.
From Dec. 13-15, president Joe Biden will host around 50 heads of states and senior leaders from across the African continent in Washington, DC.
The summit’s agenda is a hefty one. “The US-Africa Leaders Summit will build on our shared values to better foster new economic engagement; reinforce the US-Africa commitment to democracy and human rights; mitigate the impact of covid-19 and of future pandemics; work collaboratively to strengthen regional and global health; promote food security; advance peace and security; respond to...
