A major annual summit of the African Union (AU) will be held this week in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. A number of key issues will be discussed by the continental organization composed of heads-of-state.
This summit will be followed later by one convened at the White House on August 5-6 that will bring together African leaders with President Barack Obama. The U.S. is late in following numerous other conferences over the last several years involving African presidents along with the leaders of China, South American states, Iran and Japan.
In light of the growing Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Pentagon involvement in key African states such a meeting with the Obama administration could not be held from a position of strength by the regional leaders. Such meetings only re-emphasize the dependent and subordinate role of the continent, its leaders and people to the whims and caprices of the western imperialist countries.
The primary focus of U.S. imperialism in Africa is military subordination, economic exploitation and the containment of China and other rival geo-political regions. Yet what Africa really needs is cooperation and capacity-building that can only grow out of mutual cooperation and genuine political and economic partnerships which Washington is incapable of providing.
This AU summit is being held under the theme of “Transforming Africa’s agriculture for shared prosperity and improved livelihoods; harnessing opportunities for inclusive growth and sustainable development.” The gathering began on June 20 and will extend until Friday the 27th.
The AU is the successor to the Organization of African Unity (OAU) which was formed in 1963 at a summit held in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa. At the time of its founding, African people throughout the continent and the world were fighting militantly in various revolutionary struggles aimed at national liberation and socialism.