admin The White House hosted an “African leaders” summit of sorts this week. But only five countries from the continent of more than 50 nations were welcome to join.
US President Donald Trump hosted a working lunch in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, bringing together the presidents of Mauritania, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Senegal, and Gabon for a discussion focused on “commercial opportunities,” a White House official told CNN.
“This discussion and lunch dialog with African heads of state was arranged because President Trump believes that African countries offer incredible commercial opportunities which benefit both the American people and our African partners,” the White House official said. The multilateral lunch is scheduled for noon in the State Dining Room of the White House.
Going into the meeting, Liberia said that the “high-level summit” intends “to deepen diplomatic ties, advance shared economic goals, and enhance security cooperation” between Washington and “select African nations.”
However, none of Africa’s big players, such as its largest economies South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt and Ethiopia, were asked to attend. These nations are allied to BRICS, a group of emerging economies founded by Brazil, India, and America’s adversaries, Russia and China. BRICS members face the threat of being hit with new tariffs from Trump for supporting “anti-American” policies.
During the meeting, the five African leaders heaped praise on Trump as they encouraged him to invest in their countries and develop their plentiful natural resources.
The leaders joined the US president for lunch in the State Dining Room, where each leader went around the table thanking Trump for his invitation.
“I didn’t know I’d be treated this nicely. This is great. We could do this all day long,” Trump said in response to the flattery.
What does Trump want?
Christopher Afoke Isike, a professor of African politics and international relations at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, describes Trump’s handpicked guests for his US summit as “low-hanging fruit” in his quest to counter Chinese and Russian influence in Africa.
“On one hand, Trump is desperate for some deal to show to his base that he is getting results for America. But some of these also align with his focus on countering Chinese influence in Africa and malign Russian activity which undermines US interests on the continent,” he told CNN.
