Africa has ‘more options on the table’ as US seeks to reset ties

President Joe Biden told leaders that the United States ‘is all in on Africa’, promising US$55 billion in investments in the next three years

If Washington delivers on its promises, it could challenge the narrative of unrivalled growth in Chinese influence on the continent, observer says

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United States President Joe Biden talks with African leaders before they pose for a photo during the US-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington on Thursday. Photo: AP

Published: 10:00pm, 17 Dec 2022

The United States plans to pump US$55 billion into Africa in the next three years in a renewed effort to counter China’s growing influence on the continent.

Promising that the US “is all in on Africa and all in with Africa”, President Joe Biden told leaders from 49 African nations at a summit in Washington this week that it will increase investments in the continent’s infrastructure, agriculture, energy, health systems, information technology and security.

According to observers, it is a major shift in emphasis by Washington – from aid to trade – as it seeks to reset and improve relations with Africa.

The United States is making a renewed effort to counter Chinese influence in Africa. Photo: Reuters

Among the pledges made, Biden said the Millennium Challenge Corporation, a bilateral US foreign aid agency, would invest US$500 million to build and maintain roads in Benin and Niger. He said the MCC was expected to commit an additional US$2.5 billion across Africa in the next three years.

It comes after Biden in June proposed a US$600 billion initiative with the Group of Seven to build infrastructure through the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment. Washington aims to mobilise US$200 billion of that for the PGII over the next five years through grants, financing and private sector investments.

As part of the PGII, Biden said US$8 billion in public and private finance would go to help South Africa replace coal-fired power plants with renewable energy sources. The US is also funding a solar energy project worth US$2 billion in Angola, and a US$600 million high-speed telecommunications cable that will connect Southeast Asia to Europe via Egypt and the Horn of Africa.

Gyude Moore, a senior policy fellow at the Centre for Global Development and former minister of public works in Liberia, said “the proposed engagement plan is one of the most expansive we’ve seen from an American president in recent times”.

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