President Joe Biden to host second summit with U.S. and African leaders

U.S. President Joe Biden plans to host a summit with African leaders to strengthen U.S. ties with the continent, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced.
“President Biden intends to host a summit with U.S. and African leaders to pursue a high-level diplomatic policy … that will transform relations and make effective cooperation possible,” the U.S. diplomatic chief said in a speech in Abuja, the Nigerian capital.
Blinken, who is making his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa as secretary of state, did not specify a date for the summit but it is projected to hold by 2022.
The move comes at a time when China is stepping up its presence on the African continent, holding a major meeting this month in the West African country of Senegal, which Blinken will visit.
U.S. allies France, Britain and Japan regularly hold summits with African leaders.