US President Joe Biden will host 49 African leaders in Washington this week after the White House announced that the summit would be used to endorse the African Union's admission to the G20.
The summit, beginning on Wednesday, “will underscore the value the United States places on our collaboration with Africa”, the White House said.
It will be the biggest international gathering in Washington since before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, with major road closures and increased security expected throughout the capital city.
In addition to endorsing the African Union's G20 status, Washington will commit $55 billion to the continent over the course of the next three years “across a wide range of sectors to tackle the core challenges of our time”, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Monday.
“Africa is a key geopolitical player. The continent will shape the future not just of the African people, but also the world,” he added.
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President Sheikh Mohamed talks to China's President Xi Jinping during the first session of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia. Photo: UAE Presidential Court -
The Chinese leader shakes hands with President Joko Widodo, right, of host nation Indonesia. AP -
Mr Xi talks with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, left, at the summit. AP -
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and Mr Xi on their way to lunch on the first day. EPA -
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, left, meets Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia. AP -
Emmanuel Macron shakes hands with Mr Xi at a meeting between the French and Chinese leaders. AFP -
The Chinese president greets his US counterpart Joe Biden. EPA
“It’s past time Africa has permanent seats at the table in international organisations and initiatives.”
The G20, an informal grouping of the world’s largest economies, is the premier global forum for discussing global economic issues.
Representation in that forum will allow African countries to better lobby the body on pressing issues, including its pledge to help the continent to cope with climate change.
“The summit is really rooted in the recognition that Africa is a key geopolitical player and one that is shaping our present and will shape our future,” a senior White House official told reporters on a press call.
White House officials said that the forum will primarily focus on issues including Covid, climate change, the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the amplification of diaspora ties.
Mr Biden is scheduled to deliver an address at a US-Africa business forum and host multilateral talks with leaders as well as a White House dinner.
The White House added that on Thursday, Mr Biden will host “high-level discussions”, including a session on Agenda 2063, the African Union's strategic vision for the continent.
The announcement of Mr Biden's endorsement of the African Union's permanent status in the G20 was met with support from leaders on Capitol Hill.
Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Gregory Meeks praised the move as a “significant step” towards “promoting African agency, equity and leadership in the international community”.
The Biden administration promised “a number” of incoming announcements over the week, including “specific deliverables and a number of different areas, new projects and initiatives, new funding streams”.
The White House has played down questions that the summit is part of an effort to combat the influence of China and Russia amid increased concerns over their role on the continent.
China is Africa’s largest trading partner and source of foreign direct investment, the Washington-based Council on Foreign Relations reported.
Investment from Beijing has backed infrastructure development and economic growth across the continent through programmes such as the Belt and Road Initiative, which aims to create a transcontinental economic belt and maritime road connecting Eurasia to Africa.
Recent polling from the UK-based YouGov-Cambridge Globalism Project found that Beijing is increasingly popular compared to Washington across the continent.
In South Africa, 61 per cent of respondents saw China’s influence in the world as positive; in Kenya, support was higher at 82 per cent, while Nigeria showed the highest opinion of Beijing, with 83 per cent support.
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The Afar region, the only passageway for humanitarian convoys bound for Tigray, is facing a serious food crisis due to the combined effects of the conflict in northern Ethiopia and drought in the Horn of Africa. AFP -
More than a million people need food aid in the region, the World Food Programme reported. AFP -
Internally displaced people sit in a tent in a makeshift camp in the village of Erebti, Ethiopia. AFP -
A new round of peace talks for Ethiopia led by the African Union's representative Olusegun Obasanjo is imminent, a senior US official has said. AFP -
The World Food Programme this week issued a warning that they will run out of food for Ethiopian refugees by October. AFP -
The Tigrayan People's Liberation Front agreed to a truce in return for the Ethiopian government providing indefinite humanitarian aid to the region. AFP -
Internally displaced people gather near Erebti, Ethiopia. AFP -
More than two million civilians have been internally displaced and 5.2 million people in Tigray are in urgent need of food, the UN says. AFP -
Internally displaced woman carry blankets in the makeshift camp. AFP -
A member of the Afar militia takes a rest next to his weapon in the makeshift camp. AFP -
Members of the Afar militia stand guard at a checkpoint near the town of Abala, Ethiopia. AFP -
A convoy of lorries from the World Food Programme make their way to Tigray. AFP -
USAID chief Samantha Power speaks during a joint press conference with Kenya's Public Service Cabinet Secretary Margaret Kobia in Nairobi. AFP -
Ms Power promised aid to help avert famine in the Horn of Africa. AFP -
Somalis who fled drought-stricken areas carry their belongings as they arrive at a makeshift camp on the outskirts of Mogadishu, Somalia. AP -
Molly Phee, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs. Photo: US Mission Photo -
Olusegun Obasanjo, special envoy of the African Union for the Horn of Africa, arrives at a gala dinner in Ethiopia. AFP -
!['We are committed to supporting talks between the parties and we're hopeful that the AU High Representative for the talks in Ethiopia, former [Nigerian] president Obasanjo, will soon announce a location and a time for those talks,' Ms Phee. Reuters](https://www.thenationalnews.com/resizer/v2/IRZOKU73RZ7HX2IXMX62WVCBU4.jpg?smart=true&auth=a5df167fcf10ba4b125cc8eaed1f8c17355d091f42a3e344f662b5c3fb05c440&width=400&height=225)
'We are committed to supporting talks between the parties and we're hopeful that the AU High Representative for the talks in Ethiopia, former [Nigerian] president Obasanjo, will soon announce a location and a time for those talks,' Ms Phee. Reuters -
French President Emmanuel Macron welcomes Mr Obasanjo upon his arrival at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France. EPA -
Mr Obasanjo speaks during a panel discussion for the 2015 Global Education and Skills Forum at the UAE's Atlantis Conference Centre. Jeffrey E Biteng / The National -
Secretary of State Antony Blinken is visiting Africa this week. Here, he visits the Kigali Genocide Memorial in Rwanda. AFP -
Mr Blinken visits the genocide memorial in Kigali. Reuters
!['We are committed to supporting talks between the parties and we're hopeful that the AU High Representative for the talks in Ethiopia, former [Nigerian] president Obasanjo, will soon announce a location and a time for those talks,' Ms Phee. Reuters](https://www.thenationalnews.com/resizer/v2/IRZOKU73RZ7HX2IXMX62WVCBU4.jpg?smart=true&auth=a5df167fcf10ba4b125cc8eaed1f8c17355d091f42a3e344f662b5c3fb05c440&width=800&height=450)
