The tenure of President Barack Obama has been characterised not just by reluctance in taking on issues but also getting in quite late when it comes to taking action. And this from someone who has been at the White House for nearly six years.

For the final two years of his presidency, Obama has decided to focus on Africa and initiated a summit of US and African heads of state, which was held earlier this month. But it was marked by the absence of the president of the most important Arab-African country — Egypt. President Abdul Fattah Al Sisi expressed his regret for not accepting Obama’s invitation due to the way it was offered. The absence of the Egyptian leader in turn reduced the value of the summit, which was about building towards far better economic ties between the US and Africa.

But the US approach towards Africa comes way too late. China has had a head start having invested time and more than $20 billion over the past 20 years, to the extent that it dominates many of Africa’s sectors related to natural resources.

China presence

China has deepened its presence in Africa to the extent that it has become difficult for other players to enter these markets without forming some sort of co-operation with Chinese companies, particularly in energy and mining as well as the exploration and extraction of natural resources that abound in the many African countries.

Over the past decade, there have been signs of the US turning its attention on Africa, but the focus has been dominated by military interests that led to the creation of a central US command for the continent. This effectively means increased military spending and bearing the additional burden without economic returns, unlike the Chinese approach, which mainly cares about the economic aspect.

It may be that the powers-that-be in US lays much store in the ‘better late than never’ adage. As the former President Bill Clinton said at the summit: “America has barely scratched the surface of investment potential in Africa,” and then going on to add that partnering African enterprises is a “massive opportunity for American business.”

Obama brought together senior executives from 90 American companies, including General Electric and Wal-Mart. But the question is what’s with all this sudden attention on Africa?

The International Monetary Fund says that Sub-Saharan countries will achieve an estimated growth rate of 5 per cent over the next two years. Also, six of the world’s 10 fastest growing economies are in Africa, in addition to the fact that the continent is rich in natural resources, including oil, gas and uranium.

Presently, US exports to Africa provide 250,000 jobs and which can be doubled if the investment programme, under which US companies have allocated $14 billion worth of new investments, turn out to be successful.

These investments will be channelled into clean energy, financial institutions, technology and construction. The US has also pledged $33 billion in aid and various subsidies as well as projects throughout the continent.

The US Assistant Secretary of State Linda Thomas-Greenfield did say that Washington does not feel the danger of the presence of other countries in Africa, clearly referring to China.

China could react to the Washington’s move by increasing its interest in a region that has become a hub of its strategic interests in the world.

While China extracts natural resources and minerals in Africa to provide its industries with raw materials, the US is focusing on modernising production processes. The US approach could run into problems given the chronic difficulties related to poor infrastructure and the endemic corruption and mismanagement.

African countries may benefit from the spike in global attention and which could be used to develop its infrastructure to optimum requirements. They need to make full use of the promise of improved fund inflow and use this platform to raise growth patterns, provide jobs and improve living standards.

— Dr Mohammad Al Asoomi is a UAE economic expert and specialist in economic and social development in the UAE and the GCC countries.