Tag: u s africa leaders summit
U.S. Opens Africa Summit With Call For Political Tolerance

U.S. Opens Africa Summit With Call For Political Tolerance

By Jerome Cartillier and Shaun Tandon

Washington (AFP) — The United States urged African leaders on Monday to respect political differences, saying that core democratic principles are vital to achieving long-term economic growth.

The call came at the start of an unprecedented U.S.-Africa summit in Washington attended by 35 presidents, nine prime ministers, three vice presidents, two foreign ministers, and a king.

The three-day program of talks marks one of President Barack Obama’s biggest initiatives for Africa, against the backdrop of an Ebola outbreak and several security crises on the continent.

Washington is seeking stronger economic ties with Africa, having found itself outpaced by China and Europe on a continent where the International Monetary Fund expects to see 5.4 percent growth this year and 5.8 the next.

But, in a sharp contrast to China’s business-first approach, U.S. leaders first addressed democracy and civil rights concerns.

Vice President Joe Biden met African civil rights leaders and encouraged them to fight corruption.

“It’s a cancer in Africa as well as around the world. Widespread corruption is an affront to the dignity of its people and a direct threat to each of your nations’ stability, all nations’ stability,” Biden said.

– More than ‘strong men’ –

Secretary of State John Kerry said that a strong civil society can bolster democracy and the rule of law — which are “not just American values, but universal values.”

“Diversity is always a better predictor of success than uniformity. Because strong institutions are always more effective, more durable, and more predictable than strong men or women,” he said.

Outside the State Department a crowd of around 100 protesters, many from Washington’s large expatriate Ethiopian community, demanded the United States not cosy up to African autocrats.

Citing the example of South Africa’s late anti-apartheid champion Nelson Mandela, Kerry said that most Africans supported limiting their leaders to two terms in office.

“We will urge leaders not to alter national constitutions for personal or political gain,” Kerry said.

But Kerry did not directly name any of the long-serving leaders– most of whom were nonetheless invited to the summit including Equatorial Guinea’s Teodoro Obiang Nguema, Rwanda’s Paul Kagame, Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni or Cameroon’s Paul Biya.

Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, in office for 35 years, was also invited but sent the vice president.

Earlier Mondya, Kerry met with President Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo and welcomed his efforts to tackle militia violence in the war-torn nation.

The United States has been pushing Kabila to step down in line with his constitutional limit when the vast nation goes to the polls again in 2016.

The top U.S. diplomat also vowed that the United States would support the work of embattled gay activists and champion press freedom “including for journalists charged with terrorism or imprisoned on arbitrary grounds.”

Ethiopia has recently charged seven bloggers and three journalists with terrorism. Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn — a key security partner — was nevertheless invited.

– Ebola outbreak –

While the United States had hoped to focus on an economic agenda, the public health crisis caused by the Ebola outbreak — which has left almost 900 people dead in west Africa since the start of the year — is also taking center stage.

On the sidelines of the summit, Guinean President Alpha Conde and senior officials from Liberia and Sierra Leone held talks on the Ebola response with Tom Frieden, the director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Sylvia Mathews Burwell, the US secretary of health and human services.

Security officials were expected to focus on instability in South Sudan and the Central African Republic and to discuss ways to act against Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Boko Haram militants from Nigeria and Shebab militants from Somalia.

And, despite strong growth in much of Africa, Ghana’s President, John Mahama, said that he is seeking an IMF bailout to address a currency plunge and close a large fiscal deficit in what was once one of Africa’s healthiest economies.

-Greater involvement by Obama –

Obama, who plans personal involvement Tuesday and Wednesday at the summit, is the first US president of African descent but devoted little time in his first term to the continent.

He traveled last year to Africa and announced an initiative to bring electricity to at least 20 million more Africans through $7 billion in private funds. But officials have warned observers not to expect flashy announcements from the summit in Washington.

South African President Jacob Zuma said he believed Obama’s African background “has not helped” as he faces domestic political pressure in the United States not to put more focus on Africa.

“I believe he could have done more, but I think he always was aware of this fact, and therefore he has navigated the situation very well,” Zuma told reporters.

AFP Photo/Karen Bleier

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Obama Writes Article On Africa’s Promise As Summit Opens

Obama Writes Article On Africa’s Promise As Summit Opens

By Anita Kumar and Lesley Clark, McClatchy Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — As he kicks off a historic meeting of African leaders, President Barack Obama tells Americans that the United States must invest in an up-and-coming Africa that’s trying to shed its image of poverty and disease.

“We can’t lose sight of the extraordinary promise of Africa,” Obama wrote in an opinion piece McClatchy published Tuesday. “And just as Africa is changing, we need to change the way we think about the continent, put aside old stereotypes, and respond to Africans’ desire for a partnership of equals where Africans take the lead in their own development.”

The U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, which began Monday in Washington, brings together leaders of nearly all African nations, lawmakers, business leaders, and development organizations for a three-day meeting designed to boost economic ties between the United States and Africa.

Obama wrote in his op-ed that the goal of the summit he’s billing as the largest gathering of African leaders ever in Washington is to expand trade and create jobs, strengthen democracies, and combat threats, including those from terrorist groups.

“A new Africa is emerging,” he wrote. “This week I’m making it clear that (Africans) will find no better friend than the United States, because Africa’s success will mean greater security and prosperity for all our nations for decades to come.”

But Obama’s summit is competing for attention with a deadly Ebola outbreak that’s raging in parts of Africa, as well as with other crises in Ukraine, Iraq, and the Middle East.

A handful of African leaders canceled their visits to deal with the virus, but White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Monday that some attendees hailed from countries where the outbreak had occurred. He said the Secret Service and the State Department had ensured that officers were trained to identify those exhibiting any symptoms.

Earnest said anyone starting to exhibit symptoms would be quarantined and treated. He noted, too, that individuals from the countries were screened before boarding aircraft in their home countries and again upon arriving in the United States.

On Monday, Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry spoke to leaders who also participated in a series of roundtables on health, food security, climate, and wildlife trafficking. Members of Congress were to host a reception Monday night.

Biden spoke before a gathering of civil society groups, encouraging them to keep governments honest. “There’s so much at stake, but the opportunities are so vast,” he said. “In your hands, with your help, Africa can and will go so much further.”

Biden urged the groups to keep tabs on their governments and help root out corruption.

“Corruption is not unique to Africa. But it’s a cancer,” he said. “It’s a cancer in Africa as well as around the world. Widespread corruption is an affront to the dignity of its people and a direct threat to each of your nations’ stability, all nations’ stability.”

Obama will speak Tuesday at the end of the U.S.-Africa Business Forum, sponsored by the Commerce Department and Bloomberg Philanthropies. Former President Bill Clinton will moderate the opening session. Obama and first lady Michelle Obama then will host African leaders at a dinner at the White House.

Wednesday’s program will focus on democracy and peace. Former President George W. Bush and former first lady Laura Bush will participate in a separate daylong event on issues geared toward women and girls: education, cancer, and improving their lives through entrepreneurship.

Obama didn’t pay much attention to sub-Saharan Africa in his first term as he confronted a series of domestic and international crises. Last summer, he traveled to Africa to start repairing that relationship.

AFP Photo/Paul J. Richards

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