Africa Strategic Dialogue unites interagency leaders to align security and economic power
WASHINGTON D.C. – Leaders from across the government convened Oct. 29 for the annual Africa Strategic Dialogue hosted by U.S. Africa Command.
Representatives from the Departments of Commerce, Energy, State and War as well as Development Finance Corporation and Millenium Challenge Corporation met at National Defense University in Washington, D.C. to discuss priorities and opportunities in Africa.
AFRICOM’s priority is to protect the U.S. homeland by working with African partners to address shared security concerns, including the threat posed by Al Qaeda and ISIS, but limited traditional military resources require finding other ways to address these challenges.
“AFRICOM operates in a complex, resource-constrained environment where traditional military options alone cannot secure long-term stability,” said Gen. Dagvin Anderson, AFRICOM commander. “We must leverage the full spectrum of American power. By aligning our security objectives with the initiatives of our interagency partners, we can deliver sustainable security outcomes.”
Bringing the interagency together in this type of forum helps identify where the agencies’ interests converge and facilitates a more effective implementation of the national security strategy in Africa. The day included discussions on a range of topics including commercial diplomacy and defense economics as well as how to advance burden sharing through coordination and execution.
“Under President Trump and Secretary Rubio, we're changing how the United States engages with Africa. We've moved away from aid toward trade, private investment, and economic partnership,” said Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of African Affairs Frank W. Garcia Jr. “It has to be a good deal for our African partners and a good deal for the U.S. taxpayers and industry.”
Garcia emphasized that this partnership model is built on respect for sovereignty and transparent deals, offering a stark, sustainable alternative to opaque, debt-heavy agreements.
This diplomatic strategy is put into action directly through deep commercial engagements across key growth sectors.
"There is a tremendous amount of interagency collaboration and efforts in engagement with Africa," said Department of Commerce Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Middle East and Africa Mark Mitchell. "Commerce is focused on the mutual wins of trade relationships and commercial deals that can deliver economic prosperity and security, including through super intelligence, advanced security, communications, critical minerals, and infrastructure projects. We are working toward a long-term partnering relationship through trade."
This commercial focus directly underpins the security and stability required for commercial investment. Attendees agreed that increased coordination can have outsized effects in Africa, where opportunities abound with 12 of the 20 fastest growing economies as well as projections to be home to one third of the world’s population by 2050.
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