Washington – The capital city of the United States of America (USA), Washington, will host as of this Tuesday the US-Africa Leaders´ Summit, which will assess new directions for the strategic partnership between the US and African countries.
The three day-event, in a initiative of the US President Joe Biden, will count on the participation of at least 49 African leaders and important businesspeople, who will analyse the state of cooperation and identify new areas for partnership in a mutually beneficial framework.
The summit, which will be attended by the Angolan Head of State, João Lourenço, is a response of the North American State to consolidate its space in Africa at a time that investments from China, Russia, France and Turkey are increasing on the continent.
To this end, the Washington Summit will have on the table issues that mark the world today, such as peacekeeping, good governance, democracy and security, climate change, energy and food security.
For the USA the meeting will specifically enable the discussing of new strategies to work with African governments, taking into account the upcoming challenges in the cradle continent, which continues to face huge challenges regarding peace and security.
In the same way, the summit opens space for seeking of the best answers from the USA in sustainable health and conservation, climate adaptation, energetic transition domains as well as inclusive growth of the communities and information Technologies.
Concretely, the Washington Summit will have several panels such as the Youth and Diaspora Forum as well as other panels in which various ministers will participate.
In this first working day, attention will be focused on the Eximbank Annual Congress, which will be attended by more than 100 participants, among them President João Lourenço, one of those invited to speak.
The Business Forum is scheduled for Wednesday (14), a meeting in which the Angolan Head of State will address in the panel related to the theme “Building a Sustainable Future: Partnerships to Finance African Infrastructure and Energy Transition”.
Another important event will be the Leaders’ Summit, scheduled for Thursday (15), which will discuss strategic partnerships for Agenda 2063, or the African Union (AU) agenda.
African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) on the agenda
The Washington Summit will be particularly be focused on the economic component, representing a new paradigm in the way the US cooperates with the African continent.
In this regard, one of the programmes to be closely analysed during the meeting will be the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), enacted in 2000, which has been at the centre of US economic policy and trade engagement with Africa.
The programme, turned to qualified countries in sub-Saharan Africa, provides tax-free access to US markets for over 1.800 products and more than 5.000 qualified for tax-free access under the Generalized System of Preferences programme.
It is a policy with stringent eligibility requirements that demands each interested country to continue reforms in order to establish an economy based in the market which guarantees progress in the areas of the rule of law and political pluralism.
To this end, countries must remove barriers to US trade and investment, enact policies to reduce poverty, combat corruption and protect human rights in order to access new market opportunities.
In this regard, AGOA has helped boost economic growth, promoted economic and political reform, and improved U.S. economic relations in the region, with 36 countries eligible for the programme’s benefits so far this year.
Several analysts understand that African states are not yet making the most of AGOA, which means that there are advantages which give rise to great debate on the subject.
America with open arms
Speaking about the summit, President Joe Biden said it will demonstrate America´s enduring commitment to Africa and highlight the importance of US/Africa relations and increased cooperation on shared global priorities.
In a message to African leaders, the American statesman wrote that the event will build on shared values to better promote new economic engagement; reinforce US-Africa commitment to democracy and human rights.
In the same way, Joe Biden stressed that it will help to mitigate COVID-19 and future pandemic impact by enabling collaborative work to strengthen regional and global health, promoting food safety, peace and security, as well as to respond to the global climate crisis.
Mr Biden assured that he looks forward to working with African governments, civil society, diaspora communities in the United States and the private sector to continue to strengthen the shared vision for the future of US/Africa relations.
On his turn, the Angolan Foreign minister, Téte António, said that the summit represents the turning of a page in the US/Africa relationship, stressing that with this initiative, the US is reformulating its way of relating to Africans.
“The United States paradigm was another annual meeting with the African Union Commission. There were some summits, which did not have the substance and details like this one. It is a very comprehensive and sui generis summit, due to the way it is organised”, said the official.
The Angolan minister believes that the summit is also an opportunity for Angola to promote its image and gain credibility with international bodies.
In this regard, Téte António said that the Angolan President, João Lourenço will be taking advantage of the Summit to make economic diplomacy through contacts with several business people.
“The important thing in these international conferences is not only to be present at the sessions where important issues are discussed, but also to see what you can bring in the corridors and achieve”, expressed Téte António.
Source: Angola Press News Agency