May 2024
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The month of May was a busy one for the Africa program and U.S-Africa engagements. We hosted a range of events focused on critical topics facing African nations and U.S-Africa relations, and continued to engage a range of scholars in our publications.
Following the recent U.S-Nigeria Binational Commission - a high-level strategic dialogue focused on strengthening collaboration and cooperation between the United States and Nigeria across a broad range of shared interests including security cooperation, economic prosperity, democracy, and governance - the Africa Program welcomed Ambassador Y.M. Tuggar, the Foreign Minister of Nigeria, for a public discussion on US-Nigeria partnership.
This month Nigeria also marked 25 years of its transition back to democracy, providing a moment of reflection for its leaders to address citizen frustrations, as I told the Guardian newspaper. As one of the United States' most important partners in Africa, Nigeria is critical to broader US-Africa partnerships.
As the war in Sudan intensifies, it is critical to engage civilians and local actors in the peacebuilding process. This month, we continued to focus our efforts on this necessary engagement and welcomed the U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan, Tom Perriello, for a conversation with a range of international leaders, local experts and leading activists to discuss recommendations to actively engage civilian voices in the process of ending the war and achieving sustainable peace.
To conclude our events in May, we celebrated the relaunch of our Brown Capital Management (BCM) - Africa Forum series with a conversation on sovereign wealth funds and infrastructure development in Africa. Launched in September 2015, the Brown Capital Management Africa Forum provides a premier platform for substantive and solution-oriented dialogue on key trade, investment, and development issues in Africa, and in US-Africa relations. The Africa program also welcomed respected Nigerian professor of political economy and management, Prof. Patrick Utomi as our inaugural BCM-Africa Program public policy fellow.
A shift in South Africa’s political landscape is also underway following the country’s elections on May 29. The ruling African National Congress (ANC) lost its majority in parliament for the first time in 30 years since the fall of apartheid. Follow our programming for more coverage on the unfolding events.
In May, I attended the U.S-Africa Business Summit in Dallas, TX hosted by the Corporate Council on Africa, and participated on a panel about sub-national engagement and the future of cities. I also had the honor of participating in some of the U.S. government planned events around the visit of Kenyan President William Ruto, who was the first African leader in more than 15 years to make an official state visit to the United States.
As we enter the new month, we hope you will continue to engage with the publications and insights of our network of experts and scholars across the African continent, in the US, and around the world.
We are excited to share some of our highlights from the month of May. To stay up to date on our programming and publications, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on our different social media channels.
Sincerely,
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