Winston & Strawn Sponsors Sideline Events During 2022 U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, D.C.

Winston & Strawn was proud to be a sponsor of sideline events during the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit held in Washington, D.C., from December 12 through 17, 2022, involving the presidential delegations from 49 African countries as well as leading U.S. and African business executives. 

The two events hosted on-site at Winston’s Washington, D.C., office the Corporate Council on Africa’s “Presidential Dialogue: Mozambique Business and Investment Forum,” featuring His Excellency Filipe Nyusi, the President of Mozambique, and the “Africa Business Panel and Fire Side Chat” coordinated and sponsored by leading cybersecurity firm Cybastion and featuring Her Excellency Hilda Suka-Mafudze, the African Union’s Ambassador to the United States, as well as Africa-focused business, government, and academic leaders and professionals.  

The U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit 2022, hosted by President Biden, involved presidents, ministers, and other leaders from countries across the Africa continent and the African Union. CEOs and private-sector leadership from more than 300 American and African companies attended sessions focusing on critical industry sectors, including energy, technology, agribusiness, health care, security, and infrastructure. 

The summit confirmed the U.S. Administration’s commitment to Africa and provided a forum for new initiatives between the U.S. and African countries. U.S. government attendees included senior officials from the White House, the State Department, the Department of Commerce, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, the U.S. Trade Representative, and USAID.

At the summit, President Biden reaffirmed U.S. support for the Africa continent, demonstrated in part by the announcement of a three-year plan to invest $55 billion in Africa programs and initiatives in areas such as energy, technology, space, cybersecurity, food security, and the environment, and another $2 billion for emergency humanitarian aid, on top of $11 billion in recent food security announcements.

The first U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit took place in Washington in August 2014 and was focused largely on trade and investment. President Obama then announced $20 billion in new U.S. energy investments in Sub-Saharan Africa and a number of new private-sector commitments for African countries focusing on initiatives in energy, financial services, climate change, food security, health care, and other sectors. 

Winston & Strawn practitioners have been active in African markets for over a quarter-century. Representing clients from our offices in London, Paris, New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago, and other cities, our lawyers have been engaged in transactions, trade, and litigation matters involving a substantial variety of industry sectors, including oil and gas, renewable energy, infrastructure, telecommunications, health care, mining, aviation, agribusiness, fintech, and consumer goods.