Belgium, (Brussels Morning Newspaper) My late friend, author Christopher Hitchens, once wrote of the silent suffering long endured by people in places like Africa, being, as they were, at the receiving end of that “tone of voice,” as he termed it, underlying nearly everything that was said to them by the outside world.
With the upcoming U.S. Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, December 13-15, I believe tonality and actions will be more crucial to the success of the Summit than any slate of issues being discussed.
International conferences of every sort tend to be glorified parties and shopping excursions, though certain nations, such as China, Japan, and Turkey stage more productive African summits than do the Americans. In large part, it comes down to attitude.
Historically speaking the U.S., British, and French engagements come across as if everything around them exists solely to enhance their own centrality in the universe.
In hosting the summit, America’s first with Africa since 2014, Washington decision-makers should appreciate that Africa has changed, both in its premise and approach.
The African space industry is now valued at around $20 billion and skyrocketing. A dozen African countries have launched satellites, delivering not only communications capabilities but valuable climate change data. It’s but one of many areas in which the U.S. companies should be at the forefront rather than the Chinese.
Africa also offers better conditions for U.S. mining interests than Latin America which has been reverting to nationalist schemes akin to the last century. This is especially evident when it comes to rare earth minerals that are so crucial to the U.S. in terms of alternative energies as well as in advanced military hardware.
Unfortunately, mining by its very nature takes a great deal of time to realize a profit, and most U.S. firms, like Americans themselves, are an impatient lot.
Africans have learned to say the word “no.” The days when African countries will please and appease in the face of arrogance and one-sided action are no longer.
Witness the collapse of French influence across the Sahel. Like an individual long taken for granted, Africans have discovered the ability to punch back. The French and President Macron have been caught flat-footed in recent years by the counterpunches they have received from nations such as Mali, Chad, the Central African Republic, Burkina Faso, and Niger.
This has ranged from the expulsion of ambassadors to the throwing out of military forces.
The small Central African nation of Equatorial Guinea is an example of the U.S. being oblivious to tonality. Always firmly within the American camp, the Vermont-sized nation on Africa’s west coast caught Washington completely off guard in offering the Chinese a naval facility.
So long as Exxon’s deep-water wells kept pumping oil, Equatorial Guinea was simply off our radar. The nation was yearning to engage with us in matters such as health, education, security, and investment, but repeatedly came up against Washington finger wagging and indifference.
Then, voila— a People’s Liberation Navy base on the Atlantic!
This change in temperament also provides a caveat for Africans. It’s great that the continent no longer suffers imperious behavior in silence. Yet, turning to Russian mercenaries and engaging in ugly interactions with Chinese companies as we’ve seen in places like Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Congo is to cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face.
Africa will account for more than half the world’s population growth by 2050. It’s expected to be the fastest urbanizing region in the world, providing ample opportunity for American know-how in building the cities of tomorrow.
By treating one another as partners, with humility and respect, with eyes wide open while creating opportunities for all, the U.S. Africa Leaders Summit can be an engine of bilateral growth rather than another holiday shopping spree.
