US partner of choice in Africa: Deputy commerce secretary Don Graves

As the three-day US-Africa Leaders Summit starts in Washington, DC, today, heads of states from 49 African nations and the African Union have been invited. The summit is perceived as an opportunity for the US administration to re-engage the continent’s leaders.

Acknowledging that the US has fallen behind as China has surged past US foreign direct investment in Africa, US deputy commerce secretary Don Graves recently argued that his country remains the partner of choice in Africa. Meanwhile, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the US would commit to spending $55 billion in Africa over the three years.

US investors and companies are trying to catching up in Africa, Graves said at an event hosted by the news outlet Semafor. “We’re bringing the best technologies and innovations, the highest standards…. The US helps to build capacity in our partner countries as opposed to exploiting those countries,” he was quoted as saying by a newswire.

Before the summit began, the White House announced President Biden’s support for the African Union becoming a permanent member of the Group of 20 nations and appointing veteran diplomat Johnnie Carson as the point person for implementing initiatives that come out of the summit.

Drawing attention to petering private investment in middle- and low-income countries, particularly in Africa, deputy treasury secretary Wally Adeyemo said huge amounts of private capital among the wealthy nations remain untapped.

Trade between the US and sub-Saharan Africa was worth $44.9 billion last year, a 22 per cent increase from 2019. But FDI into the region fell by 5.3 per cent to $30.31 billion in 2021.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)