By Obabueki Victor Nosakhare
The 2022 U.S.- Africa Summit has come and gone but the key benefits for the African continent will continue to speak for years to come.
The three-day U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit which held between December 13-15 had President Biden inviting 49 African heads of state and the head of the African Union to Washington, D.C.
The most important goal of the historic summit was to build and expand vital political, economic, and strategic partnerships, as well as people-to-people dialogue, based on mutual interests and shared priorities in Africa.
The summit’s agenda included increasing sustainable food production, strengthening health systems, providing humanitarian assistance, responding to the climate crisis, reinforcing democracy and human rights, boosting U.S.-African trade, advancing peace and security, and even enhancing space research and cooperation.
President Biden believed that U.S. collaboration with African leaders, as well as civil society, business, diaspora, women, and youth leaders, is essential to addressing these shared challenges.
According to U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria Mary Beth Leonard, the summit presented opportunities to deepen U.S.-Nigeria bilateral ties on multiple levels.
In the build up to the summit, Leonard said: “We look forward not only to the Nigerian government’s robust participation in the summit, but also to hearing the views of all stakeholders in Nigeria’s promising future, including independent voices from the private sector, civil society, young people, women, and all those who are working to build a strong and inclusive democracy.”
Among other benefits, the summit was also an opportunity for the United States and the American people to reiterate their profound and enduring interest in engaging with Africa as a whole.
As Secretary of State Blinken noted during his trips to Nigeria last year and to other countries in the region earlier last year, Africa’s demographic growth and economic potential will shape not just the future of its people, it will also shape the world.
The African continent will hope to recant the testimonies of the benefits of resolutions and agreements reached in this unique summit when these leaders gather together in 2023.