US President Joe Biden will host the second US-Africa Leaders Summit sometime next year, the White House announced.
“As part of the Biden Administration’s commitment to revitalizing global partnerships and alliances, President Biden will convene leaders from across the African continent for the second US-Africa Leaders Summit next year,” the White House said in a press release.
“This Summit will continue efforts to strengthen ties with African partners based on principles of mutual respect and shared interests and values,” it added.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken who is on an African tour said during his Nigeria stop that “the U.S. president intends to host the U.S.-Africa leaders’ summit to drive high-level diplomacy and engagement that can make effective cooperation possible.”
The US has been increasingly involved in Africa as the continent grows in economic and political power, and as several conflicts continue to be waged across the region, including in Ethiopia and Sudan.
The first U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit was hosted by President Barack Obama in August 2014 in Washington.
This Summit, the largest event any U.S. President has held with African heads of state and government, was meant to strengthen ties between the United States and Africa and highlight America’s commitment to Africa’s security, its democratic development, and its people.