The inaugural U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit was held in Washington, D.C. from 4-6 August 2014. The Summit, the largest event any U.S. President has held with African heads of state and government, built on the President’s trip to Africa in the summer of 2013 and aimed to strengthen ties between the United States and one of the world’s most dynamic and fastest-growing regions.

Specifically, the Summit advanced the Administration’s focus on trade and investment in Africa and highlighted America’s commitment to Africa’s security, its democratic development, and its people. At the same time, it highlighted the depth and breadth of the United States’ commitment to the African continent, advanced our shared priorities, and enabled discussion of concrete ideas to deepen the partnership. At its core, the Summit was about fostering stronger ties between the United States and Africa.

The theme of the Summit was “Investing in the Next Generation”. Focusing on the next generation is at the core of a government’s responsibility and work, and this Summit provided an opportunity to discuss ways of stimulating growth, unlocking opportunities, and creating an enabling environment for the next generation.

» Statement by the Chair of the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit

Leaders underscored their appreciation for the strong benefits and positive outcomes that deepened U.S.-Africa cooperation affords and reiterated the need for intensified cooperation to advance shared security interests and our common goals to increase prosperity for the United States and African countries and to advance the dignity, well-being, and freedom of our people.

» Remarks by the President at Press Conference After U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit

» Remarks by the President at Opening Session of the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit

» Joint Statement on the U.S. Africa Leaders Summit and the 13th Annual AGOA Forum

The bipartisan leaders of the Senate Finance and Foreign Relations Committees and House Ways and Means and Foreign Affairs Committees issued a joint statement on the U.S. Africa Leaders Summit and the 13th Annual AGOA Forum.

» U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker Highlights New Commerce Department Efforts to Strengthen Trade And Investment Between The United States and Africa

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker highlighted a number of Department of Commerce efforts and future commitments under President Obama’s Doing Business in Africa (DBIA) campaign at the U.S.-Africa Business Forum. The Forum, a day focused on trade and investment opportunities on the continent, is a part of President Obama’s broader U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, the largest event that any U.S. president has ever convened with African heads of state or government.

» Remarks by the President at the U.S.-Africa Business Forum

» John Kerry, Secretary of State: Remarks at the U.S.-Africa Business Forum Leaders Forum Session on “Game Plan: Shaping the Future of a Fast-Growing Continent”

» Treasury Secretary Lew at U.S.-Africa Business Forum

» U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker Delivers Remarks at U.S.-Africa Business Forum

» Mike Bloomberg: Opening Remarks at the U.S.-Africa Business Forum

» John Kerry: Remarks at the U.S.-Africa Clean Energy Finance Initiative Signing Ceremony

» Remarks by Ambassador Michael Froman at the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Ministerial

» John Kerry: Remarks at the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Ministerial

» WB Group President Jim Yong Kim’s remarks at AGOA Forum

» AGOA Forum 2014: Communique and Recommendations from the CSO Session

» U.S.-Sub Saharan Africa Trade and Investment: An Economic Report by the International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, August 2014

In June 2012, the White House issued the U.S. Strategy Toward Sub-Saharan Africa, committing the United States to elevating efforts to strengthen democratic institutions and spur economic growth, trade, and investment in the region. To advance the Strategy, federal trade agencies undertook a Doing Business in Africa (DBIA) campaign with the goal of helping more U.S. businesses take advantage of the growing export and investment opportunities available in the region. The main objectives include engaging more U.S. companies in trade and investment with sub-Saharan Africa, addressing market barriers, and expanding the availability of trade financing.

This report examines recent economic data related to U.S. commercial engagement with sub-Saharan Africa to produce a full picture of the U.S.-Africa trade relationship and recent trends.

Click here to download the report.

» 5 Takeaways about Doing Business in Africa

ITA’s Report on U.S.-Africa Trade and Investment examines the economic statistics related to U.S. commercial involvement in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) – one of the world’s fastest-growing economic regions. The report is part of the Doing Business in Africa (DBIA) campaign, through which federal trade agencies are joining forces with U.S. businesses to take advantage of the growing export and investment opportunities available in the region. Here are the five key takeaways of the report.

» Presidential Memorandum: Establishing a Comprehensive Approach to expanding Sub-Saharan Africa’s capacity for trade and investment

The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) is a cornerstone of the trade relationship between the United States and Sub-Saharan Africa. Since AGOA went into effect 14 years ago, exports from Sub-Saharan Africa to the United States have more than doubled and non-oil and non-mineral exports in particular have increased nearly fourfold. The growth of new export industries has supported the creation of hundreds of thousands of jobs in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, my Administration's recent review of AGOA has revealed that, while the tariff preferences provided under AGOA are important, they alone are not sufficient to promote transformational growth in trade and investment. Read more.

» Fact Sheet: Investing in African Trade for our Common Future

Increased regional and international trade has been one of the drivers of Africa’s extraordinary average annual GDP growth rate of 5.1 percent over the last decade. President Obama and his Administration are committed to sustaining and accelerating this growth through a comprehensive strategy to realize the potential of a renewed African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). Read more.

» Fact Sheet: The Doing Business in Africa Campaign

Through the Doing Business in Africa (DBIA) Campaign, the U.S. government is strengthening its commercial relationship with the continent of Africa, a diverse region that offers substantial trade and investment opportunities across national and regional markets. With a 5.4 percent growth rate predicted for 2014, Africa is outpacing global growth. U.S. goods and services exports to Africa reached a record high of $50.2 billion in 2013, up 40 percent since 2009. These exports supported 250,000 U.S. jobs. Read more.

» Fact Sheet: Powering Africa: Increasing Access to Power in Sub-Saharan Africa

On June 30, 2013, President Obama launched Power Africa, an innovative private sector-led initiative aimed at doubling electricity access in sub-Saharan Africa, where more than 600 million people currently lack access to electricity. Power Africa set an ambitious initial goal of adding more than 10,000 megawatts (MW) of new, cleaner electricity generation capacity and increasing electricity access by at least 20 million household and business connections. Read more.

» Fact Sheet: U.S.-African Cooperation on Food Security

Since coming into office in the midst of a global financial and food crisis, President Obama has made food security a foreign policy priority. Building on commitments first made by African leaders at the African Union (AU) Summit in Maputo in 2003, the President led the G-8 in 2009 in launching a global food security initiative in L’Aquila, Italy and then shortly after launched Feed the Future which invests assistance in countries’ national food security plans, promotes agricultural research and innovation, and helps build the capacity of our partners. Read more.

» Fact Sheet: U.S. Engagement on Climate Change and Resilience in Africa

At the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, the United States and African countries reaffirmed their shared commitment to tackling together the challenges of climate change and poverty and to partnering to build resilience to these kinds of shocks. They also stressed their commitment to promoting low-carbon economic development and clean energy access on the African continent. Read more.

» Fact Sheet: Shared Investment in Youth

Africa has the youngest population in the world, with approximately 200 million people between the ages of 15 and 24 – a number expected to increase to 330 million by 2034. Africa also has the fastest growing population in the world. In fewer than three generations, 41 percent of the world’s youth will be African. By 2050, over a quarter of the world’s labor force will be African. Read more.

» Fact Sheet: U.S. Support for Peacekeeping in Africa

The United States strongly supports the work of more than 67,000 African peacekeepers serving with the African Union (AU) and United Nations (UN) in Africa. These men and women are working to protect civilians, prevent violence, and promote security and stability in many of Africa’s most complex conflicts. Read more.

» Fact Sheet: Security Governance Initiative

Today the President announced the Security Governance Initiative (SGI), a new joint endeavor between the United States and six African partners that offers a comprehensive approach to improving security sector governance and capacity to address threats. Africa is a dynamic and diverse region that is experiencing significant gains in economic growth and development, and African states are increasingly stepping up to confront security challenges. Read more.

» Fact Sheet: Partnering to Counter Terrorism in Africa

As the 1998 bombings of the U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania underscored, Africa-based terrorists threaten the interests of the United States in addition to those of our African partners. The United States government has no higher priority than protecting U.S. citizens from attack by terrorists and violent extremists. But our efforts at countering terrorism in Africa are motivated as well by a recognition that extremist groups are tearing apart communities in many parts of the continent, robbing young people of their futures, constraining economic growth, and denying people the opportunity to reach their full potential. Read more.

» Fact Sheet: U.S. Support for Democratic Institutions, Good Governance, and Human Rights in Africa

The United States is deeply committed to helping African countries strengthen their political institutions, address the challenges of governance, promote an active and empowered civil society, and uphold human rights. We view these efforts as vital to achieving Africa’s economic and security goals, because strong, accountable, and transparent institutions and a commitment to the rule of law help attract investment and generate prosperity, create trust in government, and help mitigate conflict and protect civilians from violence. Read more.

» Fact Sheet: U.S.-African Cooperation on Global Health

The United States has for decades invested in the health of Africa’s people, helped train its health and science professionals, and partnered with Africa to meet shared challenges. As the world’s largest donor to global health, we are committed to working with African governments to improve the health of their citizens, and to reaching our goals of achieving an AIDS-free generation, ending preventable child and maternal deaths, enhancing global health security by preventing, detecting and responding to infectious disease threats, and supporting countries as they invest in the health of their own citizens. Read more.

» Fact Sheet: U.S.-African Cooperation in Advancing Gender Equality

In this fourth year of what the African Union (AU) has called the “African Women’s Decade,” the United States strongly supports the great strides and commitments many African countries and the African Union have made to increase women’s and girls’ empowerment through steps to promote good governance and rule of law, accelerate economic growth and enhance food security, advance respect for human rights, and improve access to services – from health care to education. Read more.

» Fact Sheet: U.S. Support for Combating Wildlife Trafficking

Like other forms of illicit trade, wildlife trafficking undermines security across nations. Well-armed, well-equipped, and well-organized networks of criminals, insurgent elements, and corrupt officials exploit porous borders and weak institutions to profit from trading in poached wildlife. Record high demand for illegally traded wildlife products, coupled with inadequate preventative measures and weak institutions, has resulted in an explosion of illicit trade in wildlife in recent years. That trade is decimating iconic animal populations. Read more.

» Obama’s U.S.-Africa Forum Will Catalyze $14 Billion In Business Deals

Op-ed written by Michael Bloomberg & Penny Pritzker.

» AGOA: Observations on Competitiveness and Diversification of U.S. Imports from Beneficiary Countries

GAO was asked to examine a number of issues relating to AGOA countries’ trade expansion and economic development, and factors affecting their trade with the United States and other countries. This report is the first in a series responding to the request and provides GAO’s observations on AGOA countries’ trade expansion as shown by import competitiveness and diversification. Read more.

» Key recommendations from civil society for the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit

» Kerry Remarks at the Civil Society Forum Global Townhall

» National Statements by African leaders at the US-Africa Summit

National statements (23) produced in advance of the historic U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit by participating countries to allow maximum time for open discussion and exchange of ideas during the Summit events.

» On-the-Record Conference Call on the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit

On-the-record conference call by Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes; Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Linda Thomas-Greenfield; and Senior Director for Development and Democracy at the National Security Council Gayle Smith on the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit.

» The African Growth and Opportunity Act at 14: The road ahead

Testimony of United States Trade Representative Michael Froman Before the Senate Finance Committee on the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA)

» Growing the development dividend: U.S. trade policy and global development in the 21st century

Remarks by Ambassador Michael Froman at the Brookings Institution, 29 July 2014

» Hearing on Advancing the U.S. Trade Agenda: Trade with Africa and the African Growth and Opportunity Act

House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee held a hearing on trade with Africa and the African Growth and Opportunity Act on July 29, 2014 in Washington, DC.

Testimony from Ben Leo

Testimony from William C. McRaith

Testimony from Witney Schneidman

» African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA): Background and Reauthorization by Brock R. Williams (Congressional Research Service, July 24, 2014)

Most observers agree that AGOA has successfully led to increased and more diversified exports to the United States from sub-Saharan African countries. Despite this, Congress may wish to address a number of issues and challenges as it considers possible reauthorization of AGOA. Among these challenges is how current and potential AGOA beneficiaries can better utilize the AGOA program and its duty-free benefits. Download the report here.

» U.S.-Africa Civil Society Forum: Recommendations for engagement on the U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit

The upcoming U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit, taking place from August 4-6, provides an important opportunity for the United States government and African heads of state to engage in discussions that will shape the future of U.S.-Africa relations. While topics of trade, security, and economic development will feature prominently on the agenda, it is critical that Leaders attending the Summit also use the opportunity as a platform to address the human rights and democratic governance challenges that beset Africa. Given that these issues underpin longtime and broader development concerns in Africa, we believe that civil society must be given the opportunity to participate in the official Leaders’ Summit proceedings as equal stakeholders in Africa’s future.

» Statement by the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ms Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, on international developments, 01 August 2014

Our briefing this morning will focus on the upcoming United States-Africa Leaders’ Summit, which is scheduled to take place in Washington DC, United States of America, on the 5th and 6th August 2014.

» Minister of Trade and Industry Dr Rob Davies, media briefing – AGOA Forum and USAL Summit, 28 Jul 2014

President Jacob Zuma will lead a South African delegation to the first United States-Africa Leaders' Summit that will take place in Washington on 4-6 August 2014. The Summit is one of the outcomes of President Barack Obama’s visit to Africa last year. During the visit to 3 African countries, which included Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania, President Obama had promised that the US would host a US-Africa Summit to discuss issues of mutual interest.

» Investments Announced at Symposium for African Spouses Hosted by First Lady Michelle Obama and Former Lady Laura Bush

More than $200 million committed to programs that will empower more than 1 million people in Africa

» Remarks by First Lady Michelle Obama at “Investing in Our Future,” a Symposium for Spouses on Advancement for Women and Girls in Africa

» First Lady Michelle Obama and Former First Lady Laura Bush Host a Symposium

On August 6, 2014, the Office of First Lady Michelle Obama, the George W. Bush Institute, and the U.S. Department of State will host Investing in Our Future at the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit. The day-long symposium will bring together First Lady Michelle Obama, Mrs. Laura Bush, African first spouses from nearly 30 countries, leaders from non-governmental and non-profit organizations, private sector partners, and other leading experts.