Six key areas the US intends to work on to deepen relations with Africa

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday spelt six key areas that Washington intends to work on to deepen its partnership with African countries.

Speaking at a luncheon for African leaders attending the three-day US-Africa Summit in Washington, Blinken said:

1. The State Department, the Commerce Department and other agencies are going to organise more commercial diplomacy trips, where leaders from across the US government and the private sector can work together to better identify African partners and source business opportunities together.
2. The US will step up its economic diplomacy efforts.  It will work with the Business Council for International Understanding to enhance the abilities of its embassies to identify suitable local partners and to assess investment conditions on the ground.
3. The US will expand its work in all parts of the investment pipeline – from fostering investment opportunities, to promoting viable deals, to helping to close those deals.
4. The US  will continue to work with African partners to bolster the building blocks of a strong business environment.  
5. The US will help draw on the best practices of US investors and firms that have already done so successfully.
6. The US will help channel more US private sector investment to the vast growth industries across African nations, including in clean energy, in health care, in the digital sectors.

Below is Blinken’s full speech:

Good afternoon, everyone.  It is wonderful to see this room so full, so full of friends, colleagues.  As I came in from the back, I note that this area is often filled with automobiles because this is where the car show takes place.  But today, we have an incredibly vibrant community with us.

To the heads of state that are joining us today, thank you for being with us for the summit.  We’re so grateful to have this time with you in person, face to face.

To my friend Scott Nathan, thank you not only for the incredibly generous words but especially for your leadership every single day of what is an incredibly important tool that we have in the U.S. Government, and that is the Development Finance Corporation, one that is now firing on all cylinders under Scott’s leadership.

And a big thanks to my friend, to my partner, to my colleague, Secretary Gina Raimondo, to her entire team at the Department of Commerce, for the work that’s being done every single day to build stronger ties between our countries; the folks at Prosper Africa, the Corporate Council on Africa, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for organizing today’s event.  I think I saw Myron in the audience there somewhere; great to be with you today.  Thank you for everything that you’re doing.

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