Biden invites African leaders to Washington to bolster ties - paper

NEW YORK, Dec 13 (MENA) - Africa's leaders are headed to Washington for a major summit hosted by US President Joe Biden — the latest diplomatic drive by a major foreign power seeking to strengthen its ties to Africa, a continent whose geopolitical clout has grown greatly in the past decade, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.

An international scramble for military, commercial and diplomatic interests in Africa, long dominated by China, has expanded in recent years to include other powers like Russia and Turkey. In this intense competition, the U.S. has often lagged behind, analysts say — a decline the Biden administration hopes to reverse with the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit that starts on Tuesday.

White House officials say the three-day gathering will include top-level meetings, new initiatives and business deals, and a gala dinner at the White House. But African leaders have grown accustomed to being courted by foreign suitors, and Washington is one stop on what has become a global circuit of Africa summits held by China, Russia, Turkey, France, Japan and the European Union.

As the planes of over 40 African heads of state descend on Washington, a question looms: What can Biden offer that they want?

“The U.S. has traditionally seen Africa as a problem to be solved,” said Murithi Mutiga, Africa director at the International Crisis Group. “But its competitors see Africa as a place of opportunity, which is why they are pulling ahead. It’s unclear if this conference is going to change that.”

“When we talk, we’re often not listened to, or in any case, not with enough interest,” President Macky Sall of Senegal, who is president of the African Union, said in an interview in Dakar last Thursday. “This is what we want to change. And let no one tell us no, don’t work with so-and-so, just work with us. We want to work and trade with everyone.”

Much has changed since the first U.S.-Africa summit, hosted by President Barack Obama in 2014. Chinese trade with Africa has continued to grow — hitting a record high last year of $261 billion — as have the debts of African countries to China. In contrast, U.S. trade with Africa has dwindled to $64 billion — a mere 1.1 percent of U.S. global commerce.

Russia has emerged as the continent’s largest arms dealer and become a muscular force across a swath of the continent through its use of mercenaries from the Wagner Group to prop up shaky regimes, often in return for precious minerals.

Turkey has built dozens of new embassies and Turkish companies have been on a spree, constructing airports, mosques, hospitals and sports stadiums, even in unlikely conflict zones like Somalia.