The Biden administration will be hoping to use a gathering of 50 African delegations at the US-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington “to uplift and empower African institutions, citizens and nations” through discussions about challenges such as health, democracy, governance, investment, development, climate change and more.
This year’s summit, which begins on Tuesday, will focus on “deepening and expanding the long term U.S.-Africa partnership and advancing our shared priorities, amplifying African voices to collaboratively meet this era’s defining challenges.
Participantsin the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit will spend three days in Washington discussing the challenges, needs and hopes of one-fifth of the world’s population, spread over a landmass that is larger than China, India, the continental U.S. and most of Europe, combined, and where as many as one-third of the world’s languages are spoken.
A spokesperson for the National Security Council said that all 50 invited delegations – from 49 countries plus the African Union – “have confirmed their participation” but did not say at what level of government.
According to the White House, Burkina Faso, Mali, five countries were not invited. Guinea and Sudan were excluded because the African Union has suspended them over unconstitutional changes of government; and the U.S. has no diplomatic relations with the pariah state of Eritrea.
Not all delegations plan to send heads of state, raising questions about how effective deliberations can be without the direct involvement of leaders who wield considerable power.
South Sudan’s president will send his foreign minister. Ethiopia’s prime minister, whose nation is immersed in an ethnically driven conflict, is likely to be represented by that nation’s ceremonial president, who will be a rare female figure on a stage dominated by men.
The president of South Africa, among the most advanced nations on the continent, is staring down challenges from within the ruling African National Congress, which meets next week for a high-stakes leadership conference. And Zimbabwe’s president remains under U.S. visa restrictions while accused of undermining democracy and abusing human rights.
Several continental heavyweights will also attend, including African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki and the presidents of African oil giants Angola and Nigeria. The new president of Kenya has signaled that he will be there, as will the leader of Uganda, who has held that role for 36 years.
The summit will also look at how the U.S. can work with African governments on security challenges, which are especially acute in the Sahel region and in Somalia.
Deputy assistant secretary of defense for African Affairs, Chidi Blyden said that Somalia’s militant Islamist al-Shabab group remains the “No. 1” threat.
“Yes, the violent extremist threat is very challenging, but what we also realize is that it is exacerbated by the fact that there are challenges with governance and there are a lack of opportunities, and the development challenges also make for a perfect storm of instability and fragility in some of these countries,” the defense official said. “And that’s not something that you can fix with just a weapons system or more training.”
Pentagon officials also expressed concern over Russia’s shadowy mercenary Wagner Group, which has made landfall in several African nations struggling with insecurity and instability, and where, the official said, “their presence has exacerbated some of those conditions, rather than contributing to improving the security situation.”