By Agbowa Ani
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (chatnewstv.com) — The United States and the African Union on Wednesday announced the creation of a new strategic investment working group aimed at accelerating infrastructure development, private-sector investment and trade across Africa, officials said.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau met with African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, where both sides reaffirmed the importance of the U.S.-Africa relationship and agreed that economic growth is central to peace and stability on the continent.
“Economic growth forms the foundation of a peaceful and prosperous Africa,” the two sides said in a joint statement, emphasizing the need for “quality, trade-enabling infrastructure” aligned with the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
The agreement establishes a U.S.-AUC Strategic Infrastructure and Investment Working Group, or SIWG, designed to promote U.S.-Africa economic partnerships that support job creation, prosperity and economic security in Africa and the United States.
According to the statement, the working group will bring together senior officials and technical experts from the U.S. government and the African Union Commission to identify and advance opportunities for U.S. private-sector investment in AU-backed infrastructure projects.
The initiative will focus on projects linked to priority development frameworks such as the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa and the African Continental Free Trade Area, with an emphasis on trade and logistics corridors and continent-wide digital transformation.
“These investments will leverage AU convening authority and expertise alongside U.S. capital and innovative financing tools,” the statement said, citing planned support for transportation corridors, energy networks, critical minerals supply chains and regulatory harmonization.
The two sides also said the working group would seek to expand two-way trade, strengthen secure digital infrastructure and improve health security across the continent.
As both partners look to shift from traditional foreign assistance toward long-term, commercially viable investments, officials said the new working group would provide a durable framework for strategic economic cooperation.
“The SIWG will provide a foundation for strategic economic cooperation that will grow and shape the relationship for years to come,” the joint statement said.
