US President Joe Biden met at the White House on Wednesday with the leaders of six African countries that next year will attend elections that the United States will participate in monitoring.
Gabonese President Ali Bongo, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, Liberian President George Weah, Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio, Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina and Democratic Republic of Congo Felix Tshisekedi were invited to the meeting, which is being held on the sidelines of a major Africa summit hosted by Washington, according to the White House announcement.
Elections will be held in these six countries next year and the United States will ensure they are “free, fair and credible,” the US president’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said on Monday.
But the adviser added that the issue is not “sounding the alarm or saying we have concerns and solutions”.
And the US president, eager to relaunch relations with African countries, where China and Russia are working to increase their influence, received 49 leaders of the continent on Tuesday.
Former President Barack Obama organized a similar summit in 2014.
“When Africa is successful, the United States is successful and the entire world is successful,” Biden said Wednesday, in a speech unveiling a slew of investments in the continent.
During the summit, which began on Tuesday and ended on Thursday, the US administration pledged to invest more than $55 billion in the continent. A business forum was held Wednesday for American and African companies, with the promise of investments of more than 15 billion dollars.
However, Biden’s guest list has drawn criticism for the presence of leaders known for implementing repressive policies, especially since Washington did not invite Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua to another important summit recently held with Latin America, justifying that with the human rights record of these countries.
But Sullivan responded to the question on that Monday by saying the guest list had been established with the African Union, noting that “we have the same standard on human rights all over the world.”
The adviser stressed that democracy and the fight against corruption will be among the topics to be discussed with African leaders.
