The Trump administration official in charge of the State Department’s Africa Bureau recently wrote to his staff: “To put it bluntly, Africa is a peripheral – rather than a core – theater for U.S. interests that demands strategic economy.” This argument is out-of-step with contemporary realities. The continent’s population is booming, its people are innovating, and its resources power modern economies. It’s also the source of real threats, especially as armed groups hostile to the U.S. gain strength and territory. Americans, state and local governments, private companies and the next administration in Washington need to fashion a new approach to Africa based on mutual respect, learning and benefit.
This panel will address the building blocks of that approach, exploring how to strengthen broad U.S.-Africa relations when the federal government pursues transactional policies, and the planning and positioning that can happen now to prepare for the day that the federal government, regardless of the party in charge, recognizes the benefits of strengthening U.S.-Africa ties.
Speakers:
- Dr. Fonteh Akum, Director, Africa Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Katie Auth, Deputy Executive Director, Energy for Growth Hub
- Dr. Ebenezer Obadare, Douglas Dillon senior fellow for Africa studies at the Council on Foreign Relations
- Dr. Lesley Anne Warner, Former Senior Policy Advisor to U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
Moderator:
Jon Temin, Visiting Fellow, SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University
