• White House to announce U.S. Diaspora Engagement Council
• Carson: Deals between U.S. firms, African counterparts now $16.2b
• Devermont: Ghana’s $300m data centers, Angola’s $250m railway underway
• U.S. lawmakers call for S’Africa to lose AGOA Summit host over Russia ties
Senior administration officials of the United States yesterday stated that substantial gains have been made in U.S.-Africa relations six months after the second U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit (USALS), hosted by U.S. President, Joe Biden, in December 2022.
This was disclosed in a digital press briefing on USALS six months of progress by Ambassador Johnny Carson, the special presidential representative for the USALS implementation, along with Mary Catherine Phee, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, and Judd Devermont, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for African Affairs at the National Security Council.
The White House is expected to announce a list of 12 people of African heritage residing in the United States, who will head the U.S. Diaspora Engagement Council. Carson highlighted the establishment of the Council as a noteworthy development, serving as a crucial foreign policy asset.
They aim to strengthen cooperation and understanding between African Americans and Africans living on the continent. Their recommendations will be presented to the President through the Secretary of State, with the objective of enhancing the level of partnership and solidarity between these two communities.
According to Carson, the African leaders in attendance were overwhelmingly pleased with the outcomes of the summit, and progress has been made in implementing the Biden administration’s efforts.
He said one of the significant achievements in the past six months has been witnessed in the business and economic sector. During the summit, a dedicated day for business, commercial, and investment issues resulted in agreements worth $15.7 billion between American companies and their African counterparts. That figure has further risen to $16.2 billion, underscoring the commitment of the American business community to collaborate more effectively with African countries. These agreements cover a diverse range of sectors, including infrastructure, healthcare, renewable energy implementation, and agriculture.
Mary Catherine Phee, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, underscored the Biden administration’s commitment to strengthening U.S.-Africa relations. She highlighted the unprecedented number of senior-level visits to the continent in the past six months.
Notable figures, including Secretary Yellen, Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the First Lady, Secretary Blinken, Secretary Austin, Vice President Harris, Secretary of Education Cardona, Administrator Power, and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Fudge, engaged directly with African leaders.
These visits have laid the groundwork for enhanced collaboration and cooperation between the United States and African nations. Judd Devermont, Special Assistant to the President, provided further insights into the progress made. He highlighted the recent G7 Summit, which saw significant announcements, including a $300 million investment in data centres in Ghana as part of the Partnership for Global Infrastructure Investment.
Moreover, due diligence is underway for a $250 million railway corridor from Angola to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Export-Import Bank of the United States has also authorized $1.6 billion for infrastructure investments in Africa.
As the United States continues to engage actively with Africa and promote collaboration in various sectors, the stage is set for sustained progress and a promising future in U.S.-Africa relations.
Meanwhile, a group of U.S. lawmakers is calling for a U.S.-Africa trade summit planned for later this year to be moved from South Africa in response to what they said was the country’s “deepening military relationship” with Russia.
In a letter to U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken and other senior officials, they also suggested South Africa is in danger of losing its benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) – Washington’s flagship trade programme.
South Africa is due to host the AGOA Forum in Johannesburg, a meeting of African leaders and U.S. officials, to discuss the future of the programme, which is slated to expire in 2025.
South Africa’s exports to the U.S. under AGOA reached nearly $1 billion in the first three months of this year, making it the second-biggest beneficiary of the programme after Nigeria.
African nations are seeking to extend AGOA, which grants qualifying countries’ exports preferential access to the U.S.
“We are seriously concerned that hosting the 2023 AGOA Forum in South Africa would serve as an implicit endorsement of South Africa’s damaging support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” the letter, dated June 9, stated.
Referring to the letter, South African foreign ministry spokesman Clayson Monyela said on Twitter: “There is no decision by the State Department/White House to move the AGOA Forum from SA.”
South Africa’s Department of Trade and Industry, which manages the country’s trade relations with the United States, said it was not planning to respond publicly to the letter.
Judd Devermont, a special assistant to President Joe Biden focusing on Africa, said the White House shared Congress’s concern over South Africa’s “potential security partnership with Russia”.
However, he declined to say whether the administration was considering a change of venue for the AGOA Forum.
“I’m not going to get into the specifics of private conversations with the South Africans, but be sure we are having these conversations,” he said during yesterday’s online media briefing.
South Africa’s government has declared its neutrality in the war in Ukraine, and President Cyril Ramaphosa is participating in an effort by African leaders to mediate in the conflict.
However, the lawmakers voiced frustration with South Africa’s hosting of joint naval operations with China and Russia in February, and plans to hold a summit of BRICS leaders to which Russian President Vladimir Putin is invited despite being charged with war crimes by the International Criminal Court.
The lawmakers also appeared to back up an accusation by the U.S. ambassador to South Africa that a sanctioned Russian vessel collected weapons at a South African naval base last year. South African officials say they are not aware of such an arms transfer and have launched an independent inquiry into the incident.
