Africa Center

The diplomatic tools currently available to the United States and Nigeria are intended for episodic and sector-specific engagement, holding back the relationship’s potential.

Adaptation offers the fastest and most cost-effective way forward; it reduces physical climate risk before it becomes a fiscal, health, and security crisis.

As traditional powers retreat, middle powers like Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Indonesia are stepping into Africa with ambitious investments and strategic outreach. Their growing presence is transforming alliances, competition, and development across the continent.

Africa is central to the global push for cleaner energy, including the continent’s stocks of critical minerals that power green-energy technologies. But a race to extract more minerals poses public health risks, from the occupational hazards miners suffer to new disease outbreaks in mining camps. There’s a better course for investors and African governments.

Limited access to electricity has long constrained both quality of life and economic growth across much of Africa. About 42 percent of the continent’s population still lives in homes without any access. While it is technically possible to rapidly increase African electrification rates through renewables, change on such a scale would require massive global investment that is not a realistic prospect in the foreseeable future. Africa’s untapped and associated gas reserves can provide part of the solution by supporting renewable energy in boosting electrification rates.

A drop in attacks in the Gulf of Guinea does not necessarily mean piracy has been resolved. Pirates have adapted their tactics, and the potential for resurgence remains high; this issue remains a critical security and development concern. It is not just a regional priority—it is an international imperative.

As Russia, China, and other authoritarian powers expand their global reach, US security is at stake. To stay competitive, the United States must turn to Africa—for both critical minerals and partnership in countering rising adversarial influence on the continent.

The creative industry has the potential to transform the African continent through economic growth and narrative change. As the demand for African innovations continues to increase, so will the need for the protection of creators.  

Frannie Léautier launches her new report “AGOA and the future of US-Africa trade.” AGOA serves as a key tool for both the United States and Africa as they look for ways to redefine and build their relationships.