A “relations restoration” moment

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Molly Fee, assistant secretary of the US State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs, said on Wednesday that the US’s goal in hosting the summit of US-African leaders is to “rebuild to be real” relations between the two continents. People can face some of their favorite challenges”.

He held a digital press conference alongside Jude Devermont, the National Security Council’s senior director for African affairs.

“I think the United States is a good partner for Africa. We are a world power. We can have strong voices to champion some of the themes that we are going to talk about at the summit. So we want to make sure that we are aligned with the future of Africans and their vision for the continent,” Moli argued in response to a question from Anadolu Agency.

At the end of the summit, he said, “I want Africans to realize that America’s partnership with Africa brings concrete changes in their daily lives in terms of health, security, food security, and on the other hand, more investment and trade opportunities.”

“We believe that there will be benefits for African workers who need adequate working conditions, as in the United States. However, I hope that Africans and Americans will emerge from this summit with the feeling that dialogue has deepened, especially on issues that make a difference on a daily basis,” added the Undersecretary of the Bureau of African Affairs. In the Department of Foreign Affairs.

– Critical questions will be at the center of discussions

The summit will be held in the US from December 13 to 15. It will focus on three key themes: democracy, governance and security.

“On the first day, we will hear the voices of civil society and young leaders around these themes. After that, we will have a session led by the representative of the United States on governance, security and democracy. We will talk about Africa’s aspirations later,” elaborated, for his part, Judd Devermont.

Devermont explained that on African priorities, US President Joe Biden’s keynote address is expected.

“We expect these various issues to be fully discussed during these three days, with interactions from the President and other Secretaries of State. We will talk with African leaders about what we can do together to deepen democracy and respond to security challenges on the continent,” said Judd Devermont.

– America is concerned about questions of democracy

Judd Devermont explained that the United States is “concerned by the decline of democracy in Africa,” particularly coups in Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso. In particular, he explains, “The demand for democracy in Africa is higher than in any other region. It is about 70%.

“We recognize that if we want to return to civilian change, it’s going to take a lot of investment on our part. How can we do more at the summit with ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States, editor’s note), the African Union, civil society and other institutions and governance? Let us ensure that countries that have experienced coups find their way back to democracy,” said Judt.

According to him, America gets America. They will do everything possible in this partnership to “move towards democratic transition in these countries”, and all ideas and proposals are welcome.

“We intend to work with all elements of African society to ensure the return of democracy,” he concluded.

Only a portion of the dispatches broadcast by Anadolu Agency to its subscribers through the Internal Broadcasting System (HAS) are broadcast in abbreviated form on the AA website. Contact us to subscribe.