President of the United States (US) Joe Biden Biden has conveyed his intention through the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to invite Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari and a host of other African leaders to a Summit in 2022. The summit tagged "US-Africa Leaders Summit" was last held eight (8) years ago during the tenure of President Barack Obama in 2014. The invite message was relayed by Blinken during a Friday speech to the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS) on his multi-day trip to the continent.
“As a sign of our commitment to our partnerships across the continent, President Biden intends to host the US-Africa Leaders Summit to drive the kind of high-level diplomacy and engagement that can transform relationships and make effective co-operation possible,” he said.
Blinken, who is also on his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa as the U.S. Secretary of State continued by stating that countries like Nigeria are not just global leaders but are increasingly prominent around the world beyond the region and they deserve a prominent seat wherever the most consequential issues are discussed.
He added that institutions like the African Union, ECOWAS, SADC, IGAD should play a larger role and they should have a “greater voice” in global debates.
Before concluding, the Secretary of State pledged to an overhaul of the U.S. approach to Africa, that from now on, it will treat the continent as a “major geopolitical power” and that will boost development with no strings attached.
A date for the US-Africa Leaders Summit has not been set but the White House said details are forthcoming, however, many African leaders like Muhammadu Buhari, and Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa are expected to attend the planned summit.
