{ "id": "R43655", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "R43655", "active": false, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 433135, "date": "2014-07-31", "retrieved": "2016-04-06T22:55:54.738121", "title": "U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit: Frequently Asked Questions and Background", "summary": "This report provides information about the early August 2014 U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, DC, and policy issues likely to be addressed by participants in the summit and other events being held in conjunction with it. In providing background on key U.S.-Africa policy issues, the report addresses:\nAfrica\u2019s development and economic challenges;\nU.S.-Africa trade, investment, and economic cooperation;\nU.S. aid to Africa;\nGovernance, democracy, and human rights issues; and\nPeace and security issues, including selected U.S. responses. \nThe summit is organized around the theme \u201cInvesting in the Next Generation.\u201d Summit participants\u2014President Obama, the chairperson of the African Union, and an anticipated majority of African heads of state\u2014will discuss investment issues, peace and security, governance, and other topics. No U.S.-African bilateral presidential meetings are planned, although Cabinet officials will hold bilateral meetings with some countries\u2019 leaders and summit side meetings on selected issues (e.g., the West African Ebola viral disease outbreak and regional terrorism challenges) are planned. All African heads of state, apart from four, were invited to the summit. The summit is designed to enable frank exchanges of ideas on which to base U.S.-African ties, rather than to formulate a set of pre-negotiated outcomes. The summit and associated events will highlight key goals in the Administration\u2019s 2012 Africa Strategy, which focuses on U.S. efforts to help African countries to foster:\ngood governance; \nincreased economic growth, trade, and investment, in partnership with U.S. firms; \ndurable peace and security; and\ngreater socioeconomic opportunity and development. \nThere are some indications of bipartisan congressional support for the summit, as reflected by the introduction of S.Res. 522 (Coons, co-sponsored by Menendez, Corker, and Flake) on July 24. There will be one official congressional summit event, a reception, and several unofficial Capitol Hill discussion forums, in addition to dozens of other unofficial events, sponsored mostly by major firms, think tanks, non-profit advocacy groups, universities, and others. Key event topics include trade and investment, development, governance, and human rights. \nThe summit focuses on the continent as a whole, both sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa, although the Administration\u2019s 2012 Africa Strategy focuses on sub-Saharan Africa alone. Likewise, sub-Saharan Africa is the main focus of this report, although some coverage of North Africa is included.\nThe summit, the first such U.S.-hosted event, follows similar Africa summits hosted by China, France, the European Union, and others, and may be seen, in part, as a response to such events. No major new U.S. initiatives have been publicly announced ahead of the summit. The style of the U.S. summit distinguishes it from those held in other countries to date, which often culminate in pledges of large host financial commitments. This is notably the case for China, which has rapidly expanded economic and political ties with Africa in recent years. The summit has drawn some criticism focused on the lack of both \u201cdeliverables\u201d and bilateral presidential engagement, resulting from the belief of some that inadequate attention will be focused on business deal-making, among other reasons.\nThe report discusses some key social and economic issues in the region. This includes key development challenges\u2014a need for health, education, and other social indicator improvements, especially catering to Africa\u2019s youthful population, and a need to address climatic and environmental shocks, among other ends. It also briefly addresses the recent positive shift in Africa\u2019s economic environment, including rapid economic growth and growing discretionary spending by consumers, while considering factors that may continue to limit business interest in the region. U.S. trade and investment aid programs, especially trade preferences and trade capacity building efforts under the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which expires in 2015 and may be reauthorized (as the report discusses), are also addressed, as is the nature of U.S. development aid.\nU.S. bilateral aid to Africa, funded at about $7 billion in FY2014 and supplemented by additional types of aid, including emergency humanitarian assistance, focuses on health, education, agriculture and food security, and, more recently, electrification. U.S. security assistance supports the professionalization of African militaries and the deployment of African peacekeeping troops. 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