<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div class=""><i class="">Two articles below...</i></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class="" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span class="" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><a href="https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/bd/economy/us-chamber-drives-for-kenya-us-trade-deal-3276468" class="" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);">https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/bd/economy/us-chamber-drives-for-kenya-us-trade-deal-3276468</a><o:p class=""></o:p></span></div></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 14.4pt; background-color: white;"><b class=""><span class="" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(77, 77, 77);">US Chamber drives for Kenya-US trade deal<o:p class=""></o:p></span></b></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span class="" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">By Brian Ngugi<o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span class="" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">2/2/21</span></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span class="" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></div><p class="" style="line-height: 24px; background-color: white;"><span class="" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(77, 77, 77);">The United States Chamber of Commerce has urged President Joe Biden to seal a new trade deal with Kenya, which was initiated by his predecessor Donald Trump.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="" style="line-height: 27px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1.5rem 0px 0px; font-size: 1.125rem; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;"><span class="" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(77, 77, 77);">The biggest and most influential US business lobby group wants the ongoing negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two nations concluded fast to pave the way for uptake of business and investment opportunities.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="" style="line-height: 27px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1.5rem 0px 0px; font-size: 1.125rem; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;"><span class="" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(77, 77, 77);">“The Chamber supports the negotiation of a high-standard free trade agreement with Kenya, which may serve as a model for future trade and investment engagement with Africa,” said the business group in a series of recommendations for the new Biden administration.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="" style="line-height: 27px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1.5rem 0px 0px; font-size: 1.125rem; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;"><span class="" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(77, 77, 77);">“These initiatives deserve a favourable assessment by the Biden administration, which can easily continue these negotiations where the Trump administration has left off.”<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="" style="line-height: 27px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1.5rem 0px 0px; font-size: 1.125rem; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;"><span class="" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(77, 77, 77);">The White House did not immediately respond to a </span><em class=""><span class="" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px; color: rgb(166, 166, 166); border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">Business Daily</span></em><span class="" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(77, 77, 77);"> request for comment.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="" style="line-height: 27px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1.5rem 0px 0px; font-size: 1.125rem; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;"><span class="" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(77, 77, 77);">Kenya and the US on July 8 last year formally launched negotiations for the bilateral trade pact.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="" style="line-height: 27px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1.5rem 0px 0px; font-size: 1.125rem; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;"><span class="" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(77, 77, 77);">The pace of the negotiations for the new trade pact was, however, slowed down by the coronavirus pandemic.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="" style="line-height: 27px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1.5rem 0px 0px; font-size: 1.125rem; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;"><span class="" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(77, 77, 77);">A change of guard at the White House raised uncertainty over the FTA deal, with Mr Biden embarking on the reversal of numerous policies that had been rolled out by his predecessor. They span immigration to climate change.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="" style="line-height: 27px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1.5rem 0px 0px; font-size: 1.125rem; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;"><span class="" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(77, 77, 77);">Kenya is keen on signing a new trade deal with Washington before the expiry of the current arrangement under the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), which allows sub-Saharan African countries to export thousands of products to the US without tariffs or quotas until 2025.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="" style="line-height: 27px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1.5rem 0px 0px; font-size: 1.125rem; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;"><span class="" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(77, 77, 77);">Agoa grants 40 African States quota and duty-free access to the US market of more than 6,000 product lines. Two-way goods trade between the US and Kenya totalled Sh118 billion in 2019, up 4.9 percent from 2018.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="" style="line-height: 27px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1.5rem 0px 0px; font-size: 1.125rem; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;"><span class="" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(77, 77, 77);">"We appreciate what has been achieved through Agoa, but it is time we moved to much closer trade arrangements that are mutually beneficial. We will not lose focus on concluding the FTA," President Uhuru Kenyatta said last month when he bid farewell to outgoing US Ambassador to Kenya Kyle McCarter at State House, Nairobi.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="" style="line-height: 27px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1.5rem 0px 0px; font-size: 1.125rem; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;"><span class="" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(77, 77, 77);">Mr Biden in a telephone chat with Mr Kenyatta in December spoke about his interest in "building on the strong and lasting partnership between his country and Kenya" across a variety of issues affecting both countries following his election win against Mr Trump.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="" style="line-height: 27px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1.5rem 0px 0px; font-size: 1.125rem; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;"><span class="" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(77, 77, 77);">The stance of President Biden’s administration on the proposed free trade deal with Kenya is likely to be revealed when his pick for the next US trade representative post, Katherine Tai, appears before the US Senate for a confirmation hearing later this month.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="" style="line-height: 27px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1.5rem 0px 0px; font-size: 1.125rem; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;"><span class="" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(77, 77, 77);">Kenyan firms have backed the free trade negotiations, shrugging off concerns that goods produced cheaply by advanced US factories could push some of them out of business.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="" style="line-height: 27px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1.5rem 0px 0px; font-size: 1.125rem; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;"><span class="" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(77, 77, 77);">American firms have asked Kenya to fix its weak intellectual property laws as one of the conditions for backing the "model trade agreement" being negotiated by the two nations.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="" style="line-height: 27px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1.5rem 0px 0px; font-size: 1.125rem; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;"><span class="" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(77, 77, 77);">Kenya is also pursuing a new bilateral trade deal with the UK post-Brexit. It hopes that new deal would cushion her from potential hits after partner States of the EAC failed to conclude an Economic Partnership Agreement with the EU.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class="" style="line-height: 27px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 1.5rem 0px 0px; font-size: 1.125rem; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;"><span class="" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: rgb(77, 77, 77);">In the half-finished EPA deal, the EU allowed Kenya interim duty-free market access although this cannot be relied on until other remaining partners of the EAC put ink to paper to make it binding. Only Kenya and Rwanda signed the deal.</span></p><div class=""><br class=""></div></div><div class="">====</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/2/1/top-us-foreign-affairs-legislator-vows-prioritise-africa" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class="">https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/2/1/top-us-foreign-affairs-legislator-vows-prioritise-africa</a></span></div></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 7.5pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; background-color: white;"><b class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Top US lawmaker vows to reverse Trump’s ‘insulting’ Africa policy<o:p class=""></o:p></span></b></p><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">By Joseph Stepansky<o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;" class="">2/1/21</span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class=""> </span></div><p style="background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">The new chairman of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee has pledged to put sub-Saharan Africa “on the front burner” of United States foreign policy, including through an expansion of diplomatic, humanitarian and commercial activities in the region.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Congressman Gregory Meeks, who was <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/12/3/us-democrats-pick-meeks-chair-house-foreign-affairs-committee" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class="">elected</a> as head of the influential committee in December, said on Monday that the US Foreign Service must be bolstered during President Joe Biden’s administration.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Former President Donald Trump’s tenure in the White House saw a depletion of diplomatic staff across the continent – and perhaps most notably, the top ambassador post to Africa, assistant secretary of African affairs, remained vacant for nearly two years under Trump.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">“We have an opportunity to redefine America’s foreign policy and to do so in a way that makes it clear that America is back at the table,” Meeks said during an online event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">“This is especially true in Africa, which the previous administration spent the last four years viewing only through the prism of competition with China and Russia.”<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Meeks, the first Black legislator to fill the committee role, is considered a longtime supporter of Africa engagement and will join Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, the soon-to-be minted chair of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, in shaping US foreign policy legislation.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Beyond influencing which bills move forward in the two US legislative chambers, the committees oversee investigations and programmes related to US foreign policy. Their mandates include foreign aid, treaties, military deployments, international trade, arms control, and war powers.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">“The previous administration’s focus on great power competition reduced Africa to a pawn in a great game,” Meeks said. “And frankly, this approach was insulting because it assumed that Africans lacked any agency for how they affected, and were affected by, foreign affairs.”<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><h2 style="margin: 0.6rem; break-after: avoid; font-size: 2rem; font-family: "Calibri Light", sans-serif; color: rgb(47, 84, 150); font-weight: normal; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 2.4375rem; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: black;" class="">‘Inflection point’<o:p class=""></o:p></span></h2><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Meeks was pushed on Monday to lay out his plan on two pressing issues: the Ugandan presidential election, which saw Yoweri Museveni <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/1/16/museveni-clings-on-as-one-of-africas-longest-serving-leaders" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class="">win a sixth term</a> amid claims of <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/1/22/after-another-museveni-victory-uganda-is-at-the-tipping-point" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class="">voter fraud and a crackdown</a> on opposition leader Bobi Wine, and a crisis in Ethiopia’s conflict-hit Tigray region.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Museveni has long been a close military ally of the US in its fight against “terrorism” in the region and receives hundreds of millions of dollars in assistance every year. The US State Department recently told the New York Times it is considering “a range of targeted options, including the imposition of visa restrictions” against Museveni for the handling of the vote.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">But Ugandan activist Rosebell Kagumire told Meeks the US needs to work to assure a peaceful transfer of power.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">“I think that looking at [Museveni] as [a US] partner must come with this hard conversation that asks, ‘Where is your country going? Your people need an election, not a ritual,'” she said during Monday’s event.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Meeks said the US “is rapidly approaching an inflection point at which we need to think critically about how we can support the will of the Ugandan citizens for an inclusive democracy and partner on good governance and accountability”, but he did not elaborate on any concrete steps.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><h2 style="margin: 0.6rem; break-after: avoid; font-size: 2rem; font-family: "Calibri Light", sans-serif; color: rgb(47, 84, 150); font-weight: normal; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 2.4375rem; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: black;" class="">Ethiopia conflict<o:p class=""></o:p></span></h2><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Tsedale Lemma, an Ethiopian journalist, urged Meeks to use “every leverage available” to ensure an end to hostilities in Ethiopia’s Tigray region and the distribution of <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/1/19/ethiopia-hesitant-to-allow-aid-agencies-into-tigray" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class="">humanitarian assistance</a> to civilians.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">A government crackdown on the Tigray Liberation Liberation Front (TPLF) has led to the displacement of about two million people from the region, the reported deaths of hundreds of civilians killed, and <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/1/22/disturbing-rape-allegations-in-ethiopias-tigray-conflict-un" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class="">allegations</a> of widespread human rights abuses.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">In a statement on Monday, Norwegian Refugee Council Secretary General Jan Egeland said meaningful humanitarian operations have still not begun in the region. “In all my years as an aid worker, I have rarely seen a humanitarian response so impeded and unable to deliver in response for so long, to so many with such pressing needs,” Egeland said.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Lemma told Meeks the US must push for the Eritrean military’s withdrawal from Tigray. The Department of State has <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/1/27/eritrean-forces-should-leave-tigray-immediately-us" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class="">called</a> on Eritrean soldiers to leave, with both Eritrea and Ethiopia denying they are working in coordination in the region.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Lemma also called for a “UN-mandated, politically insulated and independent investigation into the atrocities that took place”.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Meeks said the US must use its “bully pulpit” to get countries to push for a ceasefire that would grant humanitarian access, while saying that “an independent investigation has to occur”. He also promised to use his committee to “put a spotlight” on the conflict.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="background-color: white;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Political analysts <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/11/9/what-will-bidens-win-mean-for-africa-experts-have-their-say" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class="">said</a> many questions remain about how the Biden administration will approach Africa, however.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Some were optimistic the continent will gain some benefit from Washington’s re-engagement with international organisations, while others believe Africa will not be a priority amid other more pressing issues, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Some of Biden’s early presidential actions have <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/1/21/biden-signs-orders-nix-muslim-ban-rejoin-paris-climate-accord" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);" class="">included</a> the end of Trump’s travel ban on several Muslim-majority countries – which included Somalia, Nigeria, Sudan, Eritrea, Egypt, Libya and Tanzania – and the lifting of the Global Gag rule, which limited aid to organisations that provide abortion counselling or literature and which disproportionately affected Africa.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">But it will be a break from the Trump administration, which ended a period of increased US-Africa engagement that began under the administration of former President Bill Clinton.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">While US aid remained relatively stable, trade dropped considerably, Francis Owusu, a professor at Iowa State University, and Padraig Carmody, a professor at Trinity College Dublin, wrote on The Conversation news website. They dubbed Trump’s approach “malign neglect”.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5rem 0px 30px; overflow-wrap: break-word; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;" class="">Instead, Meeks said he hoped the US would expand its reach beyond urban centres and called for opening consulates in Mombasa, Kenya, Cairo, Egypt, and Goma. He also said he is exploring “establishing dedicated US Embassy country teams for the regional economic communities, separate from the bilateral missions “.</span></p></div><br class=""><div class="">
Arthur Stamoulis<br class="">Citizens Trade Campaign<br class="">(202) 494-8826<br class=""><br class=""><br class=""><br class="">
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