Science Summit at the US-Africa Leaders Summit MADI Session A Win-Win (Mutually beneficial) Sustainable Africa – US Partnership

(African Leadership for African Development through Sustainable Mineral Resource Exploitation)

Event website:

https://scienceusafricaleaders.sched.com/event/1F8Gb

Register in advance for this session:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwpcuqppjguGNY5B_kZSlRjGPtPofU5AIbn

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“The United States knows that, on most of the urgent challenges and opportunities we face, Africa will make the difference. We can’t achieve our goals around the world – whether that’s ending the COVID-19 pandemic, building a strong and inclusive global economy, combating the climate crisis, or revitalizing democracy and defending human rights – without the leadership of African governments, institutions, and citizens . . . The United States firmly believes that it’s time to stop treating Africa as a subject of geopolitics – and start treating it as the major geopolitical player it has become.” Antony j. Blinken, US Secretary of State https://www.state.gov/u-s-africa-enduring-partnership/

The US- African Leaders Summit dubbed -US-Africa Enduring Partnership – scheduled in Washington D.C., 12-16 Dec 2022 will look at shaping A New Partnership between the United States of Africa and the Africa in the following key areas;

• Economic Cooperation and Development
• Youth Engagement
• Security, Peace and Stability
• Health Cooperation and
• Climate Change or Environmental Issues

Africa has all that the world needs to sustain development – Human and Natural resources especially the ballooning Youth population (642 .4 million – 49.4% of African population is below 24 years of Age and i.1.14 million about 87.7% of the population are below 49years) and Africa’s population is estimated to reach 2.5 billion by 2050 and Minerals Resources. Africa is endowed with mineral resources – as the world moves in the Transition Era, the US needs Critical Minerals and Africa has them, Africa can be the food basket for the increasing population of the world with her unexploited huge arable land, etc

Africa is deepening her integration agenda for accelerating industrialisation, boosting intra-African Trade, create jobs for the huge youth population but above all to achieve sustainable levels of inclusive growth, social and economic structural transformation. While the world has moved into digital economies, most of African countries are still Least Developed and factor Driven Economies that need to at least move into Technological, Innovation Driven economies.

History has shown that Africa has not benefited from any US- Africa Partnership in the past. The visible example is the African Opportunity Act, enacted on 18 May 2000 as Public Law 106 of the 200th Congress as an 8- year Trade and Investment Framework then extended to 15 years but George Bush, which has since been extended several times, but which has not fully benefited Africa.

The challenge has been how to position herself to take advantage of external partnerships. As African leaders meet the United States leadership to engage in discussions for a partnership between the two spheres there is a need to address issues that hinder Africa from benefiting from such Partnerships – there are a number of these challenges, but the following are critical and need to be addressed:

1. Africa needs to engage with one voice – as a United Africa. On 1st January 2021, Africa launched trading under the African Continental Free trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) which brings all 55 African Union member States to trade as ONE
2. Coherent Policies African Countries whether sovereign or regionally have not put in place policies that support the kind of Partnership between a Superpower and 55 fragmented Countries. In this case the US has used a kind of Cherry – Picking- engagement with selected African Countries,
3. Investing in key sectors that would stimulate or propel foreign investments that would spur inclusive growth and sustainable development for Africa. These investments include investing in the Youth for skills development, science and technology, investing in Infrastructure (transport and energy), investing in Innovation, Research and Development among others
4. Insecurity – Africa is a home of internal conflicts that could be avoided given regional integration blocks – African Leadership has not focused in eliminating these non-ideological conflicts that are fuelled by illicit trade in mineral resources,
5. Environmental degradation- while the world is seeking to reduce Carbon emission, Africa continues to attract investments in the Mineral resource sector that destroy the environment

MADI Session will focus on how African Leaders could position Africa to benefit from the US-Africa Partnership that will be reached during the Summit. An Enduring – US-Africa Partnership should be Mutually beneficial and a Win-Win – for all. The Session will mainly focus on a mutually beneficial the US-Africa Partnership through exploitation of mineral resources for greening the US.

Speakers

1. Frank Dixon Mugyenyi – Executive Director – MADI
2. Dr. Michael Kiberu – ICT Chief Officer – MADI
4. Dr. Osman Illboudo – Burkina Faso
5. Ms Isabbelle Ramdoo – IGF
6. Mr. Samuel Agbo-Tabi – MADI Board member – Cameroon
7. Ms Mary Burton – Namibia
8. Ms. Ndeshihafela Panduleni Ndivayele – President of the Namibia University of Science & Technology (NUST) – Mining & Process Engineering Society
9. Ms Adaji – Ojo Eleojo – Award Winner – MADI-Calestous Juma Essay Competition 2021.

Register in advance for this session:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwpcuqppjguGNY5B_kZSlRjGPtPofU5AIbn

Event website:

https://scienceusafricaleaders.sched.com/event/1F8Gb