Reed Kramer

Africa: Seize this Moment for Africa to Model Net-Zero Development – AFC's Samaila Zubairu

New York — The African Finance Corporation (AFC), has a mission even more critical today than when it was created in 2007 - mobilizing private sector-led infrastructure investment needed to drive the continent's economic growth. Younger and perhaps…

Africa: Blinken to Visit South Africa, DR Congo and Rwanda

Washington, DC — U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken will travel to three African countries from August 7 to 12 with visits to South Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda. These stops will follow visits to Cambodia and the…

Africa: U.S. Senate Committee Hears from Six Nominees for Key Africa Ambassadorial Posts

The U.S. Senate moved a bit closer to confirmation of President Biden’s nominees for six key ambassadorial posts in Africa with a hearing on Tuesday. [Watch] The three political nominees who testified during the first panel convened by the Foreign…

Africa: IMF Pledges Support to Countries Impacted by the War in Ukraine

African economies, already battling to recover from a Covid-induced recession, face major obstacles as they manage "spillover" effects from the war in Ukraine, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told a media roundtable with global reporters…

Africa: Democracy Spotlighted at Biden Summit – Who's There and Who's Not from Africa?

Leaders from 17 African nations will this week join a 'Summit for Democracy' organized by an American administration clearly aware that the United States is itself under scrutiny over its own commitment to the democratic process. The two-day summit,…

Africa: Stripe Acquisition of Paystack Could Spur More Tech Deals

The fast-growing San Francisco-based payment processing company Stripe is buying Nigeria's Paystack, a leading African fintech firm, in an acquisition that signals growing interest in Africa's tech startups. This is "the biggest startup acquisition…

Africa: What Would a President Biden Do About Africa?

Washington, DC — Repairing U.S. relations with key African countries must be a priority for the next administration, if Joseph Biden wins the November election, senior Democrats said during an online fundraiser last week. Speakers representing the…

Africa: Pompeo - No Drop in U.S. Africa Funding, Says WHO Under Review, Blasts China on Debt

Washington, DC — The decision by President Trump to end U.S. funding for the World Health Organization (WHO) will not diminish U.S. support for health across Africa, including efforts to combat Covid-19, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told a…

Africa: U.S. Military in Africa Under Spotlight

Washington, DC — Amid rising attacks by Islamic supremacists, the American military presence in Africa has come under scrutiny in U.S. policy circles, as well as among African analysts. Some two-thirds of the approximately 6,000 U.S. troops in Africa…

African In Top Spot At UN Gathering of World Leaders

A veteran African diplomat is taking center stage this week at the United Nations as the 74th session of the General Assembly (UNGA) gets underway. Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, a former university head and Nigeria's UN ambassador, began a one-year tenure…

Africa: U.S. Envoys Assume Key Africa Posts – But Not South Africa

Washington, DC — Career U.S. ambassadors are taking up key diplomatic assignments across Africa following confirmation by the Senate earlier this month. These include envoys to Nigeria, Egypt, Libya, Cote d'Ivoire and the African Union, as well as…

South Africa: Tributes for Dumisani Kumalo - From Anti-Apartheid Campaigner to Influential Diplomat

Dumisani Kumalo, a leading anti-apartheid organizer in the United States who later served for a decade as South African ambassador to the United Nations, died on Sunday evening after a lengthy illness. "He was a major and defining force in the…

Ethiopia: 'Good Time' to Visit Gateway to Africa - Airline Promotes Stopover Tourism

Washington, DC — Ethiopian Airlines, the oldest carrier in Africa, is stepping up promotion of tourism to its home country, while continuing to expand the number of destinations served across the continent and the globe. Since April 2015, Nigusu…

Africa: Retired Ambassador Slated for Top U.S. State Department Post

Washington, DC — A career diplomat who was U.S. ambassador to Guinea and Ethiopia under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush has been chosen for the top Africa policy post in the State Department, it is understood. Although no White House…

Africa: U.S. State Department To Get Experienced Diplomat in Key Africa Post

Donald Yamamoto, who has extensive diplomatic experience in Africa including two tours as a U.S. ambassador, will take office as Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Africa on 5 September. He is the second career official tapped for a senior…

Afrique: Troisième tentatives de Trump pour combler le plus haut portefeuille politique de l'Afrique

Après deux tentatives de combler le plus haut portefeuille sur la politique africaine à la Maison Blanche, l’administration Trump examine l’option de nommer à ce poste un officier de renseignement de carrière. Aucune annonce n’a été faite, mais les…

Africa: Third Trump Try to Fill Senior Africa Policy Post

After two abandoned attempts to fill the highest Africa position in the White House, the Trump team is considering a career intelligence officer. No announcement has been made, but sources with access to the selection process say Cyril Sartor, deputy…

Africa: White House Choices Shape Africa Policies

Washington, DC — Little has been said about Africa policy by the new U.S. President or his administration, but recent announcements and appointments provide an emerging outline of an approach that gives priority to security concerns. Support for…

Namibia: Transformative Policies Create Investment Opportunities – President Geingob

Windhoek — Namibia's ambitious agenda to attack inequality can reward investors, as well as transform the country, says President Hage Geingob, who is hosting an international investment conference in the capital. Since his inauguration last year as…

Ethiopian prime minister: 'We are an island of stability in a troubled region'

AllAfrica’s Reed Kramer interviewed Ethiopia’s prime minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, after a US-Africa business summit in Addis Ababa in February. These are extracts from the original interview. Your government has made major strides in meeting the…