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$Kestér Kenn Klomegâh United States President Joe Biden has joined African leaders' efforts in negotiating for the African Union's membership and working for its permanent seat in the G-20, an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 industrialized countries and the European Union (EU), according to reports emerging from the White House. Biden has invited 49 African leaders to take part in the three-day Washington summit that starts from December 13 to 15. It aims at rekindling its relationship with Africa, and on the other side African leaders seeks to use the platform to explain the kinds of partnership needed to accelerate sustainable development and strengthen connectivity with the continent. Ahead of the forthcoming U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, White House officials said that Biden administration plans to make the ascension of the AU more concrete and speak more assertively on the importance of recognizing African voices, listening to its aspirations and future demands especially in the emerging new global order. "It's past time Africa has permanent seats at the table in international organizations and initiatives," the senior director for African affairs on the National Security Council, Judd Devermont, said in a statement. "We need more African voices in international conversations that concern the global economy, democracy and governance, climate change, health, and security." He said the move, first reported by the Washington Post, comes after requests from African Union Chair and Senegalese President Macky Sall and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, and added that the announcement builds on the administration's strategy toward Sub-Saharan Africa and its advocacy for adding permanent members from Africa to the U.N. Security Council. South Africa is the only G-20 member from Africa. The African Union represents the continent's 54 countries. The G-20 is composed of the world's major industrial and emerging economies and represents more than 80% of the world’s gross domestic product. South Africa is currently the only African member of the G-20. The high-profile push for inclusion in the G-20 comes at a time when the AU has shown renewed unity and purpose on some high-profile issues, banding together to combat COVID-19 and establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area, which came into force in early 2021. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, at last month's G-20 gathering in Indonesia, underscored the importance of African Union membership in achieving climate goals. "We call for continued G-20 support for the African Renewable Energy Initiative as a means of bringing clean power to the continent on African terms," Ramaphosa told the gathering. "This can be best achieved with the African Union joining the G-20 as a permanent member." As African Union Chairman, Macky Sall was invited to the United Nations General Assembly last September. During his address to the gathering, Macky Sall was not shy about speaking up for Africa. The gist of his message? There is absolutely no excuse for failing to ensure consistent African representation in the world's key decision-making bodies. "It is time to overcome the reticence and deconstruct the narratives that persist in confining Africa to the margins of decision-making circles," said Sall, who is also the President of Senegal. His speech was about the need to give Africa permanent seats at the UN Security Council so, as he put it, "Africa can finally be represented where decisions that affect 1.4 billion Africans are being taken." But that was far from the first time he has called upon the global community to seek and consider African perspectives. From the beginning of his one-year term as the African Union's chairman last February, Sall said he wanted to see fair, equitable international partnerships that welcomed African contributions instead of dismissing African priorities. The African Union in the G-20 would come to represent the views of 54 additional members, the bulk of low-income countries. The G-20 compromises its effectiveness and influence by omitting such a large fraction of humanity and the world economy. Multilateralism must "serve the interests of all," Sall argued in October, or it will suffer "loss of legitimacy and authority." Macky Sall speaks with authority. He has put African needs and priorities – including infrastructure development, greater access to COVID-19 vaccinations, food security, and an end to energy poverty – in front of world leaders ranging from Chinese President Xi Jinping to U.S. President Joe Biden. The United States released a new strategy document for sub-Saharan Africa in August, stressing the region's importance, the threats posed by China and Russia, and vowing to extend defense cooperation with like-minded African countries. In November, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington would have to do things differently to help Africa with its infrastructure needs and it was time to stop treating the continent as a subject of geopolitics and rather as a major player on its own. Several reports say Africa needs billions of dollars a year for roads, railways, dams and power and in the last decade has received huge sums from China, which generally does not tie money to political or rights-related conditions. Washington has characterized Chinese lending as predatory and leading to potential debt traps, and has focused on facilitating private investment, but officials acknowledge it needs to do more speed up assistance. The U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit's agenda seems to be an elaborate one. "The US-Africa Leaders Summit will build on our shared values to better foster new economic engagement; reinforce the US-Africa commitment to democracy and human rights; mitigate the impact of covid-19 and of future pandemics; work collaboratively to strengthen regional and global health; promote food security; advance peace and security; respond to the climate crisis; and amplify diaspora ties," Biden said in a July statement. United States is broadening its engagement and partnership, reviewing institutional capacity and strategic approach towards building a comprehensive relationship based on mutual respect and values, while African leaders are also pushing for advancing efforts at achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Agenda 2063 of the African Union.$ $Kestér Kenn Klomegâh United States President Joe Biden has joined African leaders' efforts in negotiating for the African Union's membership and working for its permanent seat in the G-20, an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 industrialized countries and the European Union (EU), according to reports emerging from the White House. Biden has invited 49 African leaders to take part in the three-day Washington summit that starts from December 13 to 15. It aims at rekindling its relationship with Africa, and on the other side African leaders seeks to use the platform to explain the kinds of partnership needed to accelerate sustainable development and strengthen connectivity with the continent. Ahead of the forthcoming U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, White House officials said that Biden administration plans to make the ascension of the AU more concrete and speak more assertively on the importance of recognizing African voices, listening to its aspirations and future demands especially in the emerging new global order. "It's past time Africa has permanent seats at the table in international organizations and initiatives," the senior director for African affairs on the National Security Council, Judd Devermont, said in a statement. "We need more African voices in international conversations that concern the global economy, democracy and governance, climate change, health, and security." He said the move, first reported by the Washington Post, comes after requests from African Union Chair and Senegalese President Macky Sall and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, and added that the announcement builds on the administration's strategy toward Sub-Saharan Africa and its advocacy for adding permanent members from Africa to the U.N. Security Council. South Africa is the only G-20 member from Africa. The African Union represents the continent's 54 countries. The G-20 is composed of the world's major industrial and emerging economies and represents more than 80% of the world’s gross domestic product. South Africa is currently the only African member of the G-20. The high-profile push for inclusion in the G-20 comes at a time when the AU has shown renewed unity and purpose on some high-profile issues, banding together to combat COVID-19 and establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area, which came into force in early 2021. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, at last month's G-20 gathering in Indonesia, underscored the importance of African Union membership in achieving climate goals. "We call for continued G-20 support for the African Renewable Energy Initiative as a means of bringing clean power to the continent on African terms," Ramaphosa told the gathering. "This can be best achieved with the African Union joining the G-20 as a permanent member." As African Union Chairman, Macky Sall was invited to the United Nations General Assembly last September. During his address to the gathering, Macky Sall was not shy about speaking up for Africa. The gist of his message? There is absolutely no excuse for failing to ensure consistent African representation in the world's key decision-making bodies. "It is time to overcome the reticence and deconstruct the narratives that persist in confining Africa to the margins of decision-making circles," said Sall, who is also the President of Senegal. His speech was about the need to give Africa permanent seats at the UN Security Council so, as he put it, "Africa can finally be represented where decisions that affect 1.4 billion Africans are being taken." But that was far from the first time he has called upon the global community to seek and consider African perspectives. From the beginning of his one-year term as the African Union's chairman last February, Sall said he wanted to see fair, equitable international partnerships that welcomed African contributions instead of dismissing African priorities. The African Union in the G-20 would come to represent the views of 54 additional members, the bulk of low-income countries. The G-20 compromises its effectiveness and influence by omitting such a large fraction of humanity and the world economy. Multilateralism must "serve the interests of all," Sall argued in October, or it will suffer "loss of legitimacy and authority." Macky Sall speaks with authority. He has put African needs and priorities – including infrastructure development, greater access to COVID-19 vaccinations, food security, and an end to energy poverty – in front of world leaders ranging from Chinese President Xi Jinping to U.S. President Joe Biden. The United States released a new strategy document for sub-Saharan Africa in August, stressing the region's importance, the threats posed by China and Russia, and vowing to extend defense cooperation with like-minded African countries. In November, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington would have to do things differently to help Africa with its infrastructure needs and it was time to stop treating the continent as a subject of geopolitics and rather as a major player on its own. Several reports say Africa needs billions of dollars a year for roads, railways, dams and power and in the last decade has received huge sums from China, which generally does not tie money to political or rights-related conditions. Washington has characterized Chinese lending as predatory and leading to potential debt traps, and has focused on facilitating private investment, but officials acknowledge it needs to do more speed up assistance. The U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit's agenda seems to be an elaborate one. "The US-Africa Leaders Summit will build on our shared values to better foster new economic engagement; reinforce the US-Africa commitment to democracy and human rights; mitigate the impact of covid-19 and of future pandemics; work collaboratively to strengthen regional and global health; promote food security; advance peace and security; respond to the climate crisis; and amplify diaspora ties," Biden said in a July statement. United States is broadening its engagement and partnership, reviewing institutional capacity and strategic approach towards building a comprehensive relationship based on mutual respect and values, while African leaders are also pushing for advancing efforts at achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Agenda 2063 of the African Union.$