Biden Reminds African Leaders That The US Is Fully Committed To The Region

America is a reliable ally for Africans. This was the statement delivered by US Vice President Joe Biden during the Business Forum, one of many activities held during the Leaders’ Summit being hosted in Washington.

Biden recalled the key investment areas for the growth of the African continent and mentioned many of the completed deals.

“I think for the US we don’t tend to take our private sector companies by the hand, you don’t see an American president taking private sector companies anywhere in the world, whereas, other countries, when they go, when Macron goes, he takes French companies with him, they open up the doors for their businesses. I think for the US we are doing more of that now”, stated Florizelle Liser of the Corporate Council on Africa, a foundation with headquarters in Washington.

Joe Biden brought up the two billion dollar solar power plant projects now under construction in Angola during his remarks. A subject that prompted Angolan President Joo Lourenço to speak on behalf of his country during a panel discussion for the Partnership for Infrastructure Investment, a project that ought to receive the most funding.

“Angola and Africa above all need access to finance to develop infrastructure but for this access to be effective we need to know how to get to this resource. Often what we lack is to know or master the mechanisms and especially the processes that allow us to get the green light to use these resources”, remarked Joo Baptista Borges, minister for Energy and Water in Angola.

Additionally, the Biden administration would support African and American investors and is already making progress in this area.

“Our focus as we are heading for the end of the summit is going to be to identify the key areas of follow-up and collaboration to make these various investments materialize”, Ramin Toloui, the State Department’s assistant secretary for economic and business affairs, added.

The signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the United States and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) also occurred on the second day of the summit; according to Biden, this deal will deepen ties between the two sides of the Atlantic.