Next Steps for U.S. Africa Policy:
A Debrief of President Bush’s Trip to Africa
President Bush’s recent trip to Africa brought the development opportunities and challenges of
Africa to the attention of the American public. It offered the President an opportunity to see firsthand the promise and needs of the continent, and to highlight the new initiatives he has proposed to
strengthen the U.S.-Africa partnership. But media coverage of the trip has been sprinkled with
skepticism about overcoming African development challenges and achieving success through the
new U.S. initiatives. A recent Washington Post piece described the continent as “a graveyard for
splashy but unsustainable policy initiatives.”
Is this skepticism justified, or do the Administration’s MCA, AIDS, and private sector initiatives
hold true promise? What did the Bush team learn from African leaders about the most effective and
helpful way to implement its new initiatives? What role can we expect the U.S. to play in promoting
peace and security in Africa – the foundation of sustainable development on the continent? How
does a strong U.S.-Africa partnership serve American interests?
To answer these questions, and to discuss the policy implications of the President’s trip – both for
the U.S. and for Africa, the Center for Global Development is pleased to host:
Salih Booker
Executive Director, AfricaAction
Jendayi Frazer
Special Assistant to the President and Senior
Director for African Affairs at the National
Security Council
Patrick Cronin
Assistant Administrator, Policy and Program
Coordination, USAID
Steven Radelet
Senior Fellow, Center for Global Development
Todd Moss
(moderator)
Research Fellow, Center for Global Development
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Friday, July 18, 2003
2:00 to 4:00 p.m.
Peter G. Peterson Conference Center
(Institute for International Economics)
1750 Massachusetts Ave. NW