We are happy to share with you a 6-page policy brief from a half-day policy seminar titled "The US-Africa Leaders' Summit: A Review",  held on February 27, 2023. The meeting was hosted by the African Centre for the Study of the United States (ACSUS-UP), and the Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship (CAS), both at the University of Pretoria (UP) in South Africa; and the Center for African Studies at Howard University in Washington D.C., United States (US). It sought to review the main outcomes of the December 2022 US-Africa Leaders’ Summit in Washington D.C., and to assess the historical and broader context of the relationship.

The seminar was attended by policymakers, scholars, civil society, and media in Africa and America, and sought to address five key questions: First, was the US/Africa Summit successful at addressing mutual interests between both sides? Second, what was promised and delivered in the eight years between the two US/Africa Summits of 2014 and 2022? Third, what pledges were made at the 2022 summit, and what obstacles could prevent their fulfilment? Fourth, how can African governments muster the agency jointly to set the agenda of and pursue the continent’s interests at, these summits? Finally, how can Africa leverage any political, economic, security, and other opportunities presented by these summits? This report is based on discussions at the February 2023 policy seminar and some additional research.

The three substantive sessions covered in the meeting included: The US/Africa Leaders’ Summit: From Barack Obama to Joe Biden; Key Issues in US/Africa Relations; and A Critique of the New US-Africa Strategy. These led to 10 policy recommendations contained in this policy brief.

We trust that you will find the policy brief valuable and worth disseminating within your networks.