US President Joe Biden and administration officials in Washington pledged to recognize Africa as a major geopolitical player in the international arena and announced Washington’s support for the African Union to join the G20 as a permanent member.
The Biden administration’s biggest challenge is convincing the leaders of Africa that the US is a reliable partner to the fast-growing continent.
On Wednesday, Biden hosted several African leaders, and discussed with them issues of election integrity and security stability.
“The US supports free, fair and credible elections across the continent,” the US president affirmed.
According to analysts, the Biden administration wants to curb the influence of terrorist groups within Africa, especially ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabaab, and Boko Haram.
Washington is also seeking to encourage African leaders to fight corruption, support democratic transitions, and establish rules for respecting human rights and promoting peace and security.
In his discussions with African leaders on Thursday, Biden looked forward to addressing the Kremlin's threat to food security in Africa.
“The President will close the day with a discussion on Food security and food systems resilience, which, as you all know, is a critical issue for our African partners, who have been disproportionately impacted by the rise in food and fertilizer prices and disruptions to global supply chains as a result of Russia’s war against Ukraine,” said National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
Many doubt Washington’s ability to expand its influence in the face of rising Russian power in Africa. This comes especially as Moscow continues to provide Africa with much-needed grain in return for supporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Moreover, the Biden administration is also seeking to advance its agenda aimed at confronting climate change. This comes amid calls against exploiting tropical rainforests in the Congo to absorb carbon emissions. Many discussions are being had about how to preserve those forests in the face of major companies working in the field of oil and gas exploration.
