confidentially speaking
The Africa Confidential Blog
Regional leaders hold Sudan summit as Red Sea crisis escalates
Blue Lines
Efforts by regional leaders to convene talks between Sudan's warring generals at the beginning of the year follow several failed international plans to end the brutal eight-month conflict. This is less a rebirth of multilateral African peacemaking than an acceptance that the Israel-Gaza and Russia-Ukraine wars will dominate the arena this year. And the Sudan talks have not been accompanied by similar initiatives to end the devastating conflicts in the Sahel or in eastern Congo-Kinshasa.
With the United States and European Union both facing elections this year, their Africa policies will take a back seat, with few initiatives or summits on the agenda. They may recalibrate their approach to an African initiative for the UN to launch an inter-governmental tax authority.
For Brussels, migration is a key concern of Ursula von der Leyen's European Commission and will dominate the European Parliament elections. The Commission wants to conclude a 'cash for migrant control' deal with Egypt in early 2024.
Fighting for a second term, US President Joe Biden is unlikely to make any sorties to Africa. After he approved the renewal of the US Africa Growth and Opportunity Act, which offers tariff- and quota-free exports for most African countries, Congress can choose between extending the existing act or expanding it to offer more beneficial terms.
