In 2022, the Biden Administration released a document titled ‘U.S. Strategy Towards Sub-Saharan Africa (August 2022)[i]. The strategy was to re-engage with the region as it grows in importance within U.S. strategic interests. The document outlined four objectives to advance U.S. priorities in concert with regional partners. They are to (i) foster openness and open societies, (ii) deliver democratic and security dividends, (iii) advance pandemic recovery and economic opportunities, and (iv) support conservation, climate adaptation, and a just energy transition.[ii] The document outlined the way forward for the United States to engage with African governments to address global challenges such as climate change and global food insecurity and help shape the rules for vital issues like trade, cyber security, and transnational crime, among others. The strategy document also aims to assess the role of China and the increasing presence of Russia in the continent. It highlights that “The People’s Republic of China (PRC) … sees the region as an important arena to challenge the rules-based international order, advance its own narrow commercial and geopolitical interests, undermine transparency and openness, and weaken the U.S. relations with African peoples and governments…. Russia views the region as a permissive environment for parastatals and private military companies, often fomenting instability for strategic and financial benefit”.[iii] As a follow up to this strategy, the United States hosted the U.S-Africa Leaders Summit in December 2022 to strengthen ties between the United States and countries of the continent.
Why Africa Is Important for the United States
The United States’ engagement with Africa is not new. Since President Ronald Reagan, each President has had a signature policy initiative or focus for Africa. If one looks at the last two decades, President Clinton’s engagement with Africa saw the signing of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) in 2000, which enlarged the scope of the U.S.-Africa relations from reliance on development assistance to include trade and investment. In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, President G.W. Bush established the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) and AFRICOM. MCC was established to advance development in democracies around the world and militate against the possibility of such places becoming bases for terrorist activities. AFRICOM was an acknowledgement that America and Africa have mutual geopolitical and military interests that require greater cooperation. President Obama made the most visits to the continent as a sitting U.S. President, and ‘Trade not Aid’ was the cornerstone of his Administration’s policy towards the countries of the region. In August 2014, President Obama welcomed leaders from across the African continent to Washington for a three-day U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, the first such event of its kind. Despite President Trump’s, critical remarks on countries in Africa and the travel ban from Muslim countries, including those on the continent, the Administration largely continued with established American policies of improving economic ties, building political stability etc. The Administration’s ‘Prosper Africa’ initiative focused on assisting the U.S. companies seeking to conduct business in Africa.
With the changes in the geopolitical environment, there has been a shift in the strategic outlook within the United States. Secretary of State Blinken’s multiple trips in Africa, from Senegal to South Africa and Kenya to the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2022, followed by a tour of the continent by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, shows that the Biden Administration has focussed on the opportunities to expand the engagement with Africa beyond the security to business engagements, diaspora ties and soft power.. This was the focus of the Second U.S.-African Leader’s Summit held in 2022 in Washington. During the Summit the United States committed $ 55 billion over three years across sectors such as economic, health and security to tackle core mutual challenges faced by the United States and its partners in Africa. The paper highlights a few interests that have pushed the United States to re-engage with the countries on the continent.
Economic growth remains one of the primary drivers of the U.S. engagement. The Continent represents the world’s youngest and fastest-growing population, an important consumer market, and a potential production centre; it can play a vital role in global supply chains and has vast reserves of critical minerals. As Africa’s economies and middle class continue to expand, there is a tremendous market for American consumer goods. Consumer and business spending in Africa is expected to top $6.6 trillion by 2030, up from $4 trillion in 2015.[iv] Africa remains low on US trade index. Currently there is a mismatch in business standards, lack of credit, insufficient internet access, lack of government investment, bottlenecks in production, insufficient capacity etc that have meant that American and African business interests have not aligned with each other. To overcome this deficit and to enhance their economic ties, both the United States and African nations would need to understand and overcome the gaps that have led to the underutilisation of the provisions of preferential trade under the AGOA. With the AGOA set to expire in 2025, it is an opportune moment for the United States to design more effective and consensual trade frameworks that would benefit both partners.
Africa has long been a source of natural resources, in some cases the largest reserves of minerals that the United States needs to produce new-age technologies. For example, as the United States prioritises clean energy technologies and ecosystems, it is looking to reorient its economic and strategic outlook towards Africa. With African nations sharing the goal of working on climate mitigation strategies, there is a convergence of interest in working in the clean energy sector. Africa provides opportunities for green supply chains by tapping into its renewable energy potential, especially solar energy. The United States’ objectives to rework supply chains away from competitors like China add another dimension to the partnership with Africa. The United States is looking at alternative critical mineral supply chains to avoid its dependence on China, and through the Minerals Security Partnership[v], it is working to diversify these supply chains. African nations view this as an opportunity to negotiate better deals to bring development into their countries while ensuring that they do not remain a raw material supplier. Along with this, Africa’s largest trading bloc, the African Continent Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), is expected to provide dividends in the future with economic diversification, value addition, and structural transformation. If the trading bloc continues to get political support, it will lead to deeper economic integration among the nations of the continent, foster trade and investments, enhance inter-continental mobility of capital and labour, support sustainable development of industries and infrastructure, and create jobs for the growing population. The challenge that both the United States and Africa need to overcome is integrating the African nations into the mineral value chains that supply to the United States and strengthening United States economic diplomacy with greater outreach to the nations of the continent.
Apart from economic considerations, geopolitics is also pushing the United States to renew its relations with the countries on the continent. The latter represents one of the largest regional voting groups (28 per cent) at the United Nations (UN) and is part of the UN Security Council (UNSC) as non-permanent members.[vi] The Ukraine conflict has demonstrated the willingness of African nations to use their votes at multilateral platforms in pursuit of their national interests. In vote after vote at the UN, many African nations have abstained from outright condemnation of Russia’s invasion. With equal representation the norm, the United States would like the support of African nations on decisions on critical issues such as the conflict in Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas confrontation, while also checking the growing influence of China in international bodies, including the UN. The United States believes that China is attempting to redefine the international order in terms that are beneficial to China. The support from Africa is critical to arrest this trend.
In recent decades, the U.S. policy for Africa has also been determined by security concerns. Especially after the attacks of September 2011, relations across the continent were shaped by the war on terror. Washington has maintained a strong security footprint on the continent, including a permanent military base in Djibouti. It also has several military facilities in East Africa, West Africa, and the Sahel region, where it plays a critical role in counterterrorism operations.[vii] With important sea lines of communication and trading routes passing through the Indian and Atlantic Oceans and the Gulf of Aden, the continent remains an integral part of American strategy.
The United States is also competing with China and increasing presence of Russia here. With the United States interest in the region wavering in the past, China has been able to build deep inroads into the continent through projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and through bilateral loans and other trade agreements. Among the 53 nations that have diplomatic relations with China, 52 nations, along with the African Union, have signed BRI cooperation agreements. Today, China is an important economic partner for the countries of the continent and is working on a diverse range of projects, from infrastructure (roads and ports) to communication systems, the development of cyber-firewalls and surveillance systems, etc. China’s increased engagement has corresponded with a shift in diplomatic representation away from Taiwan, with Swaziland remaining the only country that maintains diplomatic relations with Taiwan. China’s soft power and active foreign policy have also helped it expand its diplomatic reach. For example, China has joined peace-keeping missions throughout Africa and supported UN reforms that would grant an African country a permanent seat on the UNSC. In 2000, it created the Forum of China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), a platform for meetings and discussions between African leaders and China, and the China-Africa Development Fund (2007)[viii] has become Sub-Saharan Africa’s major economic partner. As China plans to increase its engagements with the continent, the United States is taking steps to check this growing presence and strengthen its relations with the countries here.
Unlike China, Russia forged its ties with Africa during the Cold War when it provided economic and security assistance to the countries here. Post-Cold War, due to its own political problems, Russia’s engagement with the nations of Africa reduced considerably. However, since the beginning of the century, Russia has made visible attempts to reengage with the continent. This has increased as Russia’s relations with the ‘West’ have deteriorated. In 2019, it held its first Russia-Africa Summit, and despite sanctions, close to 17 Heads of African States attended the second Summit in 2023, which saw them converging on issues such as the prevention of an arms race in space, combating terrorism on the continent, and cooperation in information security. Along with diplomatic ties, Russia is trying to expand its economic footprint with African nations. It retains strong military and security ties with the continent and supplies military equipment to countries on the continent. The Russian militia is also active here and is used to protect Russia’s interests. Moscow views Northern Africa, which borders the southern flanks of NATO, as strategic for its interests. This ongoing engagement has also helped Moscow gain support in the UN, where it has been able to overcome votes by the U.S. on Crimea, Ukraine, etc, with the help of some African nations.
Conclusions
Despite the growing interest of the United States and even China and Russia, countries on the continent are still coping with several economic development issues on account which economic growth is hindered. Africa today exports goods of low production value, such as natural resources, raw material, etc., which has meant that its industry is unable to create jobs or encourage industrial production to increase within the continent, thereby stagnating economic growth. There is also a lack of domestic capital that is available for investment, ensuring that Africa has to continue to look towards international investments, which have been lagging due to political instability, corruption, etc. African governments hope to change this scenario as they engage with all parties and seek better cooperation mechanisms to ensure that development for Africa is driven by the needs of the people of Africa. The United States can use this opportunity to position itself as a partner for the countries here.
To effectively advance American interests on the continent, the United States needs to engage with African nations through an understanding of Africa’s needs and a realistic assessment of China and Russia’s relations with the countries of the continent. While high-level visits to countries on the continent would be welcome, regular U.S.-African Summits are much needed. The first Summit was held in 2014, with the second being held in 2023. The United States needs to identify its strengths, such as in healthcare, fintech, renewable energy, etc., and deepen its connection with Africa in these sectors. If the United States is able to create opportunities for African economies to engage with American industries, it will strengthen the partnership based on mutual respect.
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*Dr. Stuti Banerjee, Senior Research Fellow, Indian Council of World Affairs, New Delhi.
The views expressed are personal.
Endnotes
[i] The document is available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/U.S.-Strategy-Toward-Sub-Saharan-Africa-FINAL.pdf
[ii] The White House, “U.S. Strategy Toward Sub-Saharan Africa August 2022,” https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/U.S.-Strategy-Toward-Sub-Saharan-Africa-FINAL.pdf, Accessed on 22 December 2023.
[iii] Ibid.
[iv] Charles R. Stith, “U.S. –Africa Relations: An Opportunity Lost or Found,17 November 2021” Foreign Policy Research Institute, https://www.fpri.org/article/2021/11/u-s-africa-relations-an-opportunity-lost-or-found/, Accessed on 22 December 2023.
[v] The Minerals Security Partnership is a U.S.-led initiative to accelerate the development of diverse and sustainable critical energy minerals supply chains with partner nations. MSP partners include Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Norway, the Republic of Korea, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union.
[vi] Op.Cit 2, The White House.
[vii] Teresa Nogueira Pinto, “ A New Cold War in Africa, April 07, 2023” https://www.gisreportsonline.com/r/us-strategy-africa/, Accessed on 22 December 2023.
[viii] Kristina Kironska, “How Taiwan Lost Africa, 21 December 2022,” Central European Institute of Asian Studies, https://ceias.eu/how-taiwan-lost-africa/, Accessed on 01 December 2023.