Obama Strikes the Right Tone in Africa

President Obama has concluded what may be his last official trip to Africa. While it was relatively brief, with visits to just two countries, the messages delivered were loud and they were powerful. There were countless formal gatherings, events, and site visits. But it was his 47-minute speech to the African Union that best encapsulates the Obama Administration’s rhetorical approach to the continent. Here were his key points:

(1)   Investment-led development models are the future.  Backed by references to Power Africa and the New Alliance for Food Security, President Obama emphasized private sector- and investment-led approaches to confronting development challenges. This shift will be one of the Administration’s most lasting US-Africa policy legacies, even if it remains a work in progress.

(2)   America is unapologetic about promoting democracy and accountable government. Obama did not pull any punches about how too many African governments still jail journalists and their political opposition, undermine democratic processes, and discriminate against marginalized groups. Yet, what many activists really wanted is strong demonstrable policy actions, not just more words that have been spoken before.

(3)   Security means confronting extremism, improving governance, and providing opportunities for all.  Obama spoke at length about confronting extremist groups – like Boko Haram, Al Shabaab, and the Lord’s Resistance Army – as well as violent conflicts in Sudan, South Sudan, and the Central African Republic. In doing so, he stressed America’s support for strengthening regional armies and peacekeeping missions as well as the need to address underlying drivers of instability, such as poor governance and lack of economic opportunities.

(4)   The United States, unlike China, is a reliable partner focused on real economic partnerships.  China was actually never cited by name. But Obama, as with Secretary Clinton before, called out countries that are building infrastructure with foreign labor or extracting Africa’s natural resources. Although, it’s unclear how that latter part applies to US extractive firms. In contrast, he emphasized that America is focused on creating jobs and capacity for Africans. This message may play well in a number of countries, where the importation of Chinese labor has become an increasingly hot button issue.

As always, there were a few areas of disappointment, especially on the economic engagement front. While President Obama spoke at length about promoting trade and investment, there was no mention of pursuing bilateral investment treaties (BITs) or free trade agreements in the region. He had a perfect opportunity during his Kenya visit to breathe life into the US-East African Community BIT negotiations, which by all accounts haven’t gone anywhere. Or even launch new BIT negotiations with Ethiopia, which currently has agreements in force with 20 countries including China, France, Germany, and the Netherlands. This is a major gap for this Administration, which could leave office without signing a single new investment-promotion agreement anywhere in the world.

President Obama also failed to mention long-term congressional authorization of his signature initiatives, Power Africa and Feed the Future. This is critical to ensuring these programs outlast his administration. Moreover, Congress is considering both programs now, which makes the omission striking. Especially when there were 20 congressional members on the trip, whom he publicly thanked for reauthorizing the African Growth and Opportunity Act. Maybe there were private conversations. But, President Obama should have publicly raised the need for timely, bipartisan action on these two legacy items.

The Obama Administration’s Africa policy clearly has significant policy gaps and a lot of unfinished business, which likely won’t be addressed during its final 18 months in office. However, for this particular trip, the rhetoric definitely struck the right tone.