Obama’s Speech to Africa

After President Obama took part in the G-8 Summit in L’Aquila, Italy with leaders from the developed and developing world, he arrived in Ghana for an official two-day visit on July 10th.

On the 11th Obama talked with Ghana President Mills and visited a hospital and a slave fort 160 kilometers away from the capital Accra. But the most important part of his visit was the speech that he gave during the conference.

He specifically addressed three problems relevant to U.S.’ policies toward Africa. The first is to encourage African countries to promote democracy, improve human rights and implement good policies. The second is to promise that the U.S. will increase its aid to Africa. The third is to indicate that the U.S. will be more active in African regional affairs.

In regards to increasing aid to Africa, Obama promised that the U.S. and other Western governments would increase aid and investment into Africa. Obama emphasized that although foreign aid is important, African countries must play a leading role in their own development and the aid from the West must be linked to democracy and good policies. He also stressed that the success of foreign aid will depend on its long-term benefits and the partnership among African nations. This will be beneficial to both the U.S. and Africa.

President Obama also discussed problems of security and peace in Africa. Obama admitted that Western countries once viewed Africa as a source for cheap natural resources but ignored many of the social problems. According to the U.S. President, if Western countries want to change their perspectives, they must pay closer attention to relevant issues within Africa.

Analysts have suggested that if the speech Obama gave at Cairo University during his visit to Egypt is the U.S.’ appeal to the Muslim world, then the speech he gave in Ghana reveals the basic road map of the U.S. government’s policies toward Africa. Unfortunately, these policies are precisely the same policies toward Africa as previous administrations. African mineral resources, such as oil, are important to the U.S. because now 10% of the U.S. oil imports come from Africa and in 2015, African oil will account for 25% of U.S. oil imported by the U.S. Because the core interests of the U.S. are involved, Obama’s visit to Africa indicates that the U.S. is aware of “the importance of Africa”.