US President Joe Biden has said Africans can count on the United States as he delivered a speech at the Business Forum at this year’s US-Africa leaders summit in Washington DC.
“The United States is all in on Africa’s future,” President Biden told the 49 African leaders attending the summit.
This is the first time such a summit is taking place after the last one held in 2014 under former President Barack Obama.
The summit is seen as a US attempt to re-assert its influence in Africa to counter Chinese sergeancy.
President Biden also announced the many deals that have been concluded at the summit, stressing his country’s commitment towards investing in African continent.
He said that the crises facing the world today needed African leadership, ideas and innovations, and promised to build on the “vital” investments in Africa made by previous US administrations.
His National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the US would commit $55bn to Africa over the next three years.
The US president also spoke about a $500m-investment to reduce transport costs at a key West African port in Benin.
He also mentioned $350m that would be spent on boosting the digital economy and said that $15bn-worth of deals had been struck at the US-Africa Business Forum.
The signing of a memorandum of understanding between the United States and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), took place.
It is an agreement that, for President Biden, will bring the two sides of the Atlantic even closer together.
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Source: Africafeeds.com
