US President Joe Biden actually intended to give his African guests a gift by welcoming 49 heads of state and government to a three-day summit. His predecessor, Barack Obama, created the format to improve ties to the African continent. The first African-American US President promised a new era of cooperation. But in 2014 the series came to an abrupt end and the promises remained unfulfilled. Now Biden wants to revive Obama’s ambition.
But the guests are skeptical about what Biden’s new initiative will bring. In their perception, the new beginning is accompanied by a diplomatic mishap: the US President organizes a three-day summit with a state reception and gala dinner for the 49 heads of state and government – but does not meet any Africans for bilateral meetings. This reinforces guests’ fears of being perceived by the hosts as a monolithic block rather than as representatives of individual countries with very different interests. As mere pawns in the competition between the superpowers.
The White House then sent Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Tony Blinken to numerous meetings and assured the guests that the Americans would visit the individual heads of state in their homes in the coming months. Biden also tried to defuse the criticism by leaking his main gift to the Africans before the summit: he wanted to propose on Wednesday that the African Union be included in the G20.
The issue of food safety is pressing
So far, South Africa is the only African country to be a member of the ranks of the largest economies. Macky Sall, President of Senegal and currently the African Union, welcomed Biden’s move. “This will help build strong and more dynamic cooperation,” he said in Washington after a meeting with Secretary of State Blinken. Inclusion in the G20 is an old demand of the African Union; for example, the management of the Covid 19 pandemic was discussed there – and Africa was largely left out.
Biden also promised more help: the USA wants to invest 55 billion dollars in Africa in the coming years, for example for the expansion of roads, the Internet and renewable energies. The United States trade representative, Katherine Tai, has meanwhile signed what Biden called “a historic declaration of intent” together with the new secretariat of the African continental free trade area AfCFTA on Wednesday evening. But the promised investment of $55 billion was immediately compared with the more than $60 billion that the US has already set aside for the war in Ukraine. Overall, Biden seems to be struggling with his plan to tie African heads of state and government more closely to the Western community of states in order to strengthen the defensive front against Russia and China.
Many African countries maintain close relations with both Russia and China. And from the food price shocks triggered by Russia’s attack on Ukraine, people in African countries are suffering the most. Food security and agriculture are therefore among the most important issues that the guests in the USA want to discuss.
With South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Biden tried to make progress in the run-up to the summit. But South Africa continues to refuse to support UN resolutions against Russia, for example: the interpretation circulating there is that Western sanctions triggered price increases, not the war. For Americans, this is disinformation that should be fought.