To close that gap, Biden said ‘’the summit will work towards new economic engagement, promote democracy and human rights, advance peace and security, and address challenges such as food, security and climate change as well as the pandemic.’’ The U.S president believes that his country’s collaboration with leaders from African government, civil society, the private sector and the African diaspora will help tackle some of the challenges.Īffirming that the US offers a better model, the US Agency for International Development announced recently ahead of the summit that it is providing nearly $1.3 billion in aid to the Horn of Africa nations of Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia to help stave off mass starvation and death in the drought – stricken region. The US is stepping up efforts, but is still far from catching up despite the launch of the Prosper Africa initiative in 2021 to increase two way trade and investment between the United States and African countries. Since 2013, China has been the top foreign investor in Africa spending billions of dollars on the continent’s infrastructure. “The summit will demonstrate the United States’ enduring commitment to Africa, and will underscore the importance of US Africa relations and increased cooperation on shared global priorities”, Biden said in a statement.īiden has yet to visit Africa since becoming president, and the summit will give him opportunity to comprehensively look at the complexities of the continent to further promote western democracy as a counterbalance to China’s growing influence in Africa. Fifty African leaders have been invited by President Joe Biden for the US-Africa summit to hold December 13-15, this year.