The world’s attention will be focussed on Africa in the coming days when President Biden of the United States of America hosts leaders from across the African continent in Washington, D.C. from December 13-15, 2022 for the most anticipated US-Africa Leaders’ Summit 2022.
The summit is expected to demonstrate the United States’ enduring commitment to the African continent and underscore the importance of US-Africa relations as well as an increased cooperation on shared global priorities, more especially in these difficult times of global economic challenges.
The gathering of public-private leaders across the continent, officials of strategic US government departments and agencies – as well as groups of American investors and other key state players, is meant to foster economic relations through engagement on Africa shaping not just the future of African citizens but the world at large.
Ahead of this all-important summit to make a difference in tackling the most urgent challenges and seizing opportunities for Africa’s growth, I had an interaction with Virginia E. Palmer, Ambassador of the United States of America to Ghana, on the current state of Ghana-US bilateral relations at the US Embassy in Accra.
A career diplomat for almost four decades, which has seen her play several important roles across the United States, Ambassador Palmer has also served in Kenya, Canada, Zimbabwe, China and Hong Kong, working on various assignments including political/military affairs, corruption, trade and agriculture, labour and human rights issues, health and development.
Ambassador Palmer is a devoted lover of arts and crafts, whose motivation to pursue a career in the United States Foreign Service can be traced to her stay in apartheid South Africa as an AFS Intercultural Exchange Programme student at age 15.
“I saw the impact that US policy could have – and also saw what it was like to live without the freedom I took for granted in the United States. Then again, I realised the opportunity diplomacy would give me to work for the United States government and partner countries to make them prosper and affect the lives of their citizens as I make my country more prosperous and secured. So, at age 15, I had wanted to be a diplomat – and for that I studied French and Chinese in university,” she added.
Not new to the African continent, Ambassador Palmer has a deep understanding of the situation in different parts of the continent. Commenting on the prospects of her Ghanaian assignment, she believes her long years of experience in Africa is a very vital element she brings to the table, as well as her work on counter-terrorism – which saw her persuading governments to join the fight against terrorism to prevent violent extremism.
In spite of the current economic challenges Ghana is faced with – alongside the uncertainties around a possible bailout deal from the International Monetary Fund, Ambassador Palmer reiterated the United States government’s commitment to boosting two-way trade and investment while promoting enterprise-driven development, and better development outcomes for Ghana’s most vulnerable citizens.
Under her leadership, Ambassador Palmer indicated that the United States Embassy in Accra will continue to deepen bilateral relations with Ghana and continue other ongoing key collaborations and projects.
“I am very proud of the work the embassy has been doing, which is very integrated. We have a big security programme between the Ghanaian and American Armed Forces doing exercises together; and we spend about US$20million on that yearly. We do that alongside our work on human rights, rule of law, anti-corruption and inclusive economic growth, women in agriculture, women and children’s rights – all of which will help the development of Ghana,” she emphasised.
On peace and stability in Ghana and the African continent at large, she stated that the US government wants to work with its African partners rather than being in the lead – which she describes as often less successful and contrary to the philosophy of country ownership. She further lauded the Ghanaian government’s leadership’s bid to achieve peace and stability across the continent, citing the Accra Initiative.
“We have asked for ways we can give support to the Accra Initiative, which I think is a very remarkable project. In addition, we have been supportive of Ghana’s efforts to have inclusive economic growth in the northern parts so you do not have a disenfranchised population there, because that makes them vulnerable to violent extremism. We spend about US$130million a year on development programmes, mostly in the north. Social cohesion, professionalisation of security forces and respect for communities from the police and security forces are also an important part of combatting violent extremism. It has been wonderful working in these areas in Ghana,” she added.
In the area of Energy, Ambassador Palmer said: “Right before I came to Ghana, I worked on energy – and Ghana is blessed with oil and gas. The commitment to renewable energy I think can be a poster-child for the clean energy transition, and I am looking forward to working on those energy issues with Ghana. Though there are serious challenges in the power sector, I am convinced they will be dealt with; and I look forward to the United States government helping with that”.
Bilateral trade between Ghana and the United States currently stands at US$2.7b. The Ambassador believes there is a huge potential to increase trade volumes between the two countries through important instruments such as the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which is to assist economies of sub-Saharan Africa. She urged Ghanaian manufacturers to take advantage of AGOA to get their goods into the American market duty-free.
“Under AGOA, there is a great example now with Niche Cocoa which just built a chocolate factory at Wisconsin in the USA. They will export cocoa from Ghana under AGOA to the US duty-free to Wisconsin – a popular dairy state where they will add Wisconsin milk to produce chocolate. This collaboration is creating jobs in both the United States and Ghana. Shea is also another example where the United States is helping women bring shea processing to scale, which has a good export market in the United States. It also has a huge potential for creating jobs in both the United States and Ghana,” she revealed.
Ambassador Palmer mentioned that Development Finance Cooperation will soon be available for projects the government of Ghana is involved in, and further stated that the Partnership for Growth and Infrastructure is expected to make available about US$200b to be unlocked for infrastructure projects all over the world. According to her, there is an ongoing engagement with the government of Ghana to identify and present some bankable projects for financing.
“We also have the African Trade Hub, a 5-year, US$140million trade and investment facilitation activity designed to improve private sector productivity, profitability and competitiveness in West Africa through market-based approaches. It is also to help Ghanaian businesses take advantage of AGOA, which I think will solve most of the challenges Ghanaian businesses face in accessing the US market,” she added.
According to Ambassador Palmer, the media can be a powerful force for change in both developed and developing countries, and highlighted key support the embassy gives to the media in Ghana. “The fourth estate plays an important role in governance, keeping things transparent and government accountable. We do have programmes to help build the capacity of journalists to function more efficiently.
“In fact, we do have an investigative journalism programme right now for West African journalists who are starting their careers. We also have a fact-checking programme for journalists in the northern part of Ghana, and there are regular exchange programmes for journalists as well,” she indicated.
Reflecting on the future of Ghana-US relations as we concluded our conversation, Ambassador Palmer said: “I think our relations will grow from strength to strength as we are grounded in similar values. Learning from each other strengthens our bond, and the people’s exchanges through projects like the Year of Return and Beyond the Return – which has seen thousands of Americans visiting Ghana for several reasons – tells of the great future of our relationship,” she stressed.
