WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris kicked off the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington on Tuesday by spotlighting Africa’s young population, arguing that the continent’s demographics will inevitably lead it to become a key global player in the coming decades.
Harris offered the upbeat thread at the start of the Biden administration’s three-day meeting that will bring together leaders from 49 African nations and the African Union for high-level talks. The vice president also announced that the administration would invest an additional $100 million to expand the Young African Leaders Initiative and that the US Export-Import Bank was entering new memorandums of understanding that will clear the way for $1 billion in new funding. business in Africa.
The vice president’s appearance at the forum was one of a series of events designed to show US interest and commitment to Africa after years of what some officials have lamented was a lack of engagement on the continent that has increasingly become once again on a battlefield for global influence between the United States and China.
President Joe Biden, who will meet with leaders on Wednesday, is expected to sign an executive order later Tuesday that will establish the President’s Advisory Council on African Diaspora Engagement.
About 60% of Africa’s population is under the age of 25, and the youth population will grow to 80% by 2050, which Harris says calls for a greater focus on the continent.
“This represents enormous potential for the world in terms of economic growth and social and political progress,” Harris said at a forum for young leaders. “I strongly believe that the creativity and ingenuity of Africa’s young leaders will help shape the future. And that their ideas, your ideas, innovation and initiatives will benefit the entire world”.
Even before the summit began, the White House announced Biden’s support for the African Union becoming a permanent member of the Group of 20 nations and said he had appointed Johnnie Carson, a well-regarded veteran diplomat with decades of experience. on the continent, to serve as a contact person for the implementation of initiatives.
And Biden is expected to announce before the end of the summit that he will visit several countries in Africa next year, according to a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity before the trip announcement.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with the presidents of Djibouti, Niger and Somalia on Tuesday. Blinken and Austin also held talks with the president of Angola, whose oil-rich country has been a major recipient of Chinese investment in recent years and has considered allowing China to open a naval base.
The meeting with Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud came as a United Nations report released on Tuesday showed that several parts of Somalia are at risk of famine in the coming months.
Djibouti is home to a major US military base as well as a Chinese military facility, and both Niger and Somalia have been epicenters of terrorist activity by Boko Haram, al-Shabab and other groups affiliated with Islamic State, as well as US efforts to combat it. .
“We simply want to use this morning to continue to build on the close partnership we have to discuss, in particular, security cooperation and other shared priorities, such as climate, health, education and food security,” Blinken said.
“We are grateful for the strong cooperation of all of your countries with the United States,” Austin said, noting that Djibouti is home to the US base Camp Lemonier. “Our partnerships directly contribute to many of the key goals of our National Defense Strategy, including defending our country, deterring aggression, and countering violent extremism.”
The administration is hosting leaders and senior officials this week in a not-so-subtle tone to compete with China on the mainland. The goal is to convince your guests that the United States offers a better option to African partners.
The continent, whose leaders often feel that major economies have given them little attention, remains crucial to world powers due to its rapidly growing population, significant natural resources and sizeable voting bloc at the United Nations.
Africa remains of great strategic importance as the US recalibrates its foreign policy with a greater focus on China, what the Biden administration considers the US’s most important economic and military adversary.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Monday that the administration would commit to spending $55 billion in Africa over the next three years in “a broad range of sectors to address the major challenges of our time.” .
