US - Africa Summit: Cameroon plays key role

President Paul and Mrs Chantal Biya arrived at the Andrew’s Airforce base outside Washington, DC last Saturday evening.

Washington DC’s traditional quietude was over the weekend greatly interrupted by the beginning of arrivals of no less than 50 African Heads of State for the first-ever US – Africa Summit convened by the President of the United States of America.

President Biya’s plane touched down at the huge U.S Airforce base at 6.55 pm (11.55PM Yaounde time) on Saturday 2 August.

On hand to welcome the couple was the Cameroonian Ambassador to the USA Atangana Foe and his wife, Gladys Boluda, the Acting Chief of Protocol in the U.S State Department and Robert P. Jackson the immediate past Ambassador of the U.S and currently Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State.

Mr Jackson and the Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Linda Thomas-Greenfield are assisting the President’s Special Adviser on African Affairs, Grant Harris, in ensuring the success of the summit.

It will not be a classical summit involving speeches and bilateral meetings, but a series of contiguous events on some of the most serious issues facing the continent and for which the United States would like to see the various African leaders talking with each other and looking in the same direction.

That probably explains the very wide spectrum to be covered by the summit, ranging from trade and investment in the continent’s future, financing the Africa of tomorrow, health with the Ebola threat obviously in view and the very worrisome issue of insecurity best manifested by the Boko Haram threat.

In remarks at a White House press conference last Friday, President Barack Obama insisted on the importance of the summit, especially from the point of view of the fact that Africa was the fastest growing region of the world at the moment, insisting that six of the first ten fastest growing economies of the world were in Africa.

To attract interest of ordinary Americans to his initiative, he talked of the very positive image the U .S enjoys in Africa at the moment, especially in the youth milieu.

In fact, one of his spokesmen has recently stated that "the purpose of the summit will be to advance the goals of the administration on trade and investment in Africa and to highlight the commitment of the United States to the security of Africa, the development of democracy and of its inhabitants".

This initiative is also seen as a practical follow up to the commitments taken by President Obama in his speech in Cape Town in 2013 when he stated his desire to "open a new chapter in the relationship between the United States and Africa".

Moreover, there is no secret about the greater interest being shown by China and other emerging economies in Africa. That justifies the need for the U.S to strengthen its presence.

Unfortunately, this important forum for the enhancement of trade relations and other new forms of cooperation will not be attended by all willing African countries.

It is certain that the Presidents of Sudan and Zimbabwe will not be present in Washington. President El Bechir of Sudan is under an international arrest warrant while President Robert Mugabe has been placed under U.S sanctions since 2001.

The Eritrean leader Issayas Aferworki is one of those undesired by Washington which accuses his regime for fanning unrest in the Horn of Africa, notably in Somalia .A few other countries, in the likes of the CAR, Egypt, Guinea Bissau and Madagascar, initially not invited because of a deficit in democracy in those countries, finally qualified and are on the invitation list.

Cameroon – U.S Relations President Paul Biya’s presence at the summit is no accident. Cameroon has a long-standing relationship with the Unites States beginning with the opening of a consulate in Yaounde in July 1957 well before independence.

Prior to the country’s independence in 1960, former President Ahmadou Ahidjo was received in Washington on March, 19, 1959 by President Dwight Eisenhower. He consequently visited the U.S three times.

President Paul Biya has been a regular visitor to Washington. His first official visit was in February 1986 when he met President Reagan in Los Angeles.

In May 1991 he was received by President George Bush. His most recent stay in Washington was in March 2003 when he conferred with President George W. Bush.

Cameroon would like to have more than a mere presence at this summit. President Biya will certainly be a valuable resource person when it comes to talking about security issues in the continent, having successfully hosted a summit on security in the Gulf of Guinea in Yaounde and contributed in varying forms in initiatives to improve the security situation in the continent.

The summit-proper, involving the participation of Heads of State begins in earnest tomorrow Tuesday with a leaders’ breakfast to begin a day which ends with a White House dinner for the African Heads of State and government.