INSIDE AFRICA | MARKETS
By Kemi Osukoya
Fresh from a three-country tour through Ethiopia, Zambia and Kenya—his second trip to Africa within a month—U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Frank Garcia arrived in New York this week to pick up where he left off with African leaders and business, deepening the U.S relationship with Africa through trade, investment, critical minerals, technology and commercial partnerships.
Garcia arrived at his first United Nations General Assembly week as assistant secretary for African affairs as world leaders, African leaders and business executives gathered in New York for the 81st United Nations General Assembly, giving him another round of meetings with African partners just weeks after his tour.
He kicked off his UNGA meetings with a maritime business roundtable alongside U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Michael Waltz and Liberian Foreign Minister Sara Beysolow Nyanti with representatives from Panama, Argentina and the private sector discussing maritime security, shipping routes and commercial opportunities.
It was a fitting place to begin as the U.S. and other countries look for more secure shipping routes and supply chains.
Africa’s coastline stretches from the Atlantic and Mediterranean to the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, placing the continent alongside some of the world’s busiest maritime trade routes and major maritime security, connecting its ports and commodity-producing economies to markets in Asia, Europe and the Americas.
Liberia has a particular interest in those routes. It operates one of the world’s largest ship registries, while its ports, fisheries and other ocean resources are closely tied to the country’s economy and its connections to markets in the Americas and beyond.
The maritime roundtable comes as the Trump Administration puts greater emphasis on trade routes and supply chains as it works with African countries on critical minerals, energy and agriculture.
That focus was also evident during Garcia’s meeting in Kenya and Ethiopia, two longstanding U.S. partners in the Horn of Africa, where regional security is closely tied to trade routes and the movement of goods, including supply chains along the Red Sea and the shipping routes connecting the Indian Ocean to the Suez Canal and the European markets.]
In Kenya—his final stop on the three-country tour which began in Zambia, then Ethiopia and ran from Aug 30 to Sept. 10, Garcia met President William Ruto and Kenyan officials to discuss trade and investment, critical minerals, health, defense and regional security.
Kenya’s position along the Indian Ocean makes it an important player in regional trade and security as well as in maritime security. The country is also looking to develop its critical-minerals sector as the U.S. seeks more diversified sources of minerals used in advanced manufacturing and technology.
Garcia said the U.S. is prepared to help Kenya develop its processing capacity around critical minerals, including rare earths and niobium associated with the Mrima Hill deposit, with an emphasis on processing and value addition in Kenya.
That emphasis carried into his meetings with American companies operating in Kenya and Kenyan businesses at an American Chamber of Commerce event in Nairobi. Technology was another part of that discussions with Garcia meeting with technology companies and young Kenyan entrepreneurs working in the country’s growing digital economy on U.S. technology, artificial intelligence and investment.
His discussions in Kenya built on meetings with Ethiopian government officials, private sector representatives, and young people during his visit to Addis Ababa, his second leg of the trip after he attended the inauguration of Zambian President Hichilema.
In Ethiopia, Garcia met Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos to discuss U.S-Ethiopia bilateral trade, investment and commercial ties alongside regional security.
Ethiopia is landlocked, but its position in the Horn of Africa puts its economy close to some of the region’s most important maritime routes. Its trade depends heavily on neighboring Djibouti, whose ports on the Gulf of Aden provide Ethiopia’s main gateway to global markets. More than 90 percent of Ethiopia’s import and export trade moves through the Addis-Djibouti corridor, according to the World Bank.
That dependence gives Ethiopia a direct economic stake in the security of the Red Sea and Gulf of Arden. Disruptions at the sea can raise the cost and time of shipping, while instability along the maritime routes can affect the ports, roads, and railways that connect Ethioipia’s landlocked economy to global markets.
Those concerns also surfaced in Garcia’s meeting with African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf at the AU headquarters, where trade, investment and infrastructure were on the agenda through the AU Commission-U.S. Strategic Investment Working Group. Peace and security, including maritime insecurity and piracy were also discussed.
Many of those issues carried into Garcia’s meetings on the sidelines of UNGA with other African partners, including Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mauritius and Mozambique, where the agenda broadened to critical minerals, trade and investment, energy and infrastructure.
During his meeting with Mozambique’s Foreign Minister Manuela dos Santos Lucas, their discussions focused on energy, critical minerals, economic cooperation and health. Similarly with Guinea’s Foreign Minister Morissanda Kouyaté on U.S.-Guinea cooperation on critical minerals and regional security.
Guinea’s bauxite industry and the development of Simandou have made the country an increasingly important part of the global minerals conversation. The discussion with Washington is also moving toward processing, investment and infrastructure around those resources.
Garcia met with Cote d’Ivoire Minister Nialé Kaba on the sideline of Corporate Council on Africa‘s business and investment forum in New York where they discussed on U.S.-Côte d’Ivoire security and commercial relations. At the meeting, they announced a commercial partnership between Côte d’Ivoire and U.S. drone-delivery company Zipline to expand medical supplies delivery in the country, including through a planned network of distribution centers.
His meeting with Minister Mbella focused on U.S.-Cameroon bilateral Economic and Commercial Dialogue, including nearly $7 billion in new and expanding U.S. investment and trade opportunities. Critical minerals, energy and broader economic cooperation were also on the agenda.
With Mauritian Foreign Minister British Ramful, they discussed the upcoming U.S.-Africa Business Summit and bilateral commercial partnerships, including civil aviation, LNG infrastructure and imports, and financial services.
Garcia’s stop in Zambia also coincided with the arrival of the first U.S.-funded shipment of lenacapavir, a twice-yearly HIV-prevention medicine.
While both of his bosses’ schedules—President Donald Trump and Secretary Marco Rubio are scant of meetings with their African counterparts, Garcia is expected to hold additional bilateral talks with African leaders throughout this week in New York before returning to Washington D.C.
The White House did not immediately respond to Africa Bazaar’s inquiry on whether President Trump will meet with any of his counterparts from Africa. However, First Lady Melania Trump is scheduled to hold a special event at UNGA with her counterparts from around the world, including African first ladies, on securing the future and empowering children and youth through technology such as artificial intelligence.
