US president Donald Trump will host a summit for African leaders by the end of the year, focused on trade and investment, a top US diplomat for Africa said on May 14.

“It will absolutely [happen] this year, on the theme of trade and investment,” Acting Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Troy Fitrell told The Africa Report after the inaugural American Chambers of Commerce (AmChams) Summit in West Africa. “It won’t be a summit to talk solely about politics and war, and such. It will prioritise exchange between partners and relations between equals.”

The summit is expected to take place in late summer or early autumn --possibly in New York -- where former president Barack Obama held a similar business forum in 2016. Trump did not host any Africa summits during his first term, nor did he visit the continent, in contrast with his successor, Joe Biden, who convened African leaders in Washington in 2022.

The announcement comes as the United States seeks to reassert its economic influence on the continent, where China has expanded its footprint over the past two decades.

Fitrell made the remarks at a press conference at the US Embassy in Abidjan, following the AmCham summit, which was co-hosted with the US-Africa Business Center. The gathering coincided with the Africa CEO Forum and marked the launch of the US–Côte d’Ivoire Commercial Dialogue, along with the signing of multi-million-dollar deals in the energy and infrastructure sectors.

Participants included American business leaders and representatives from AmChams in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Angola, Senegal, Mali and Guinea. Ivoirian officials included Minister of Commerce and Industry Souleymane Diarrassouba and Minister of Mines, Petroleum and Energy Mamadou Sangafowa-Coulibaly.

The US, Fitrell said, has focused too much on economic development at the expense of direct commercial engagement. He outlined a new six-point strategy aimed at reversing stagnation in US-Africa trade, which currently accounts for less than 1% of total US trade.

“The Trump administration’s goal is to increase US exports and investment in Africa, eliminate trade deficits and drive mutual prosperity,” he said.

“US government resources are often too slow, too fragmented and too siloed to compete effectively with global competitors like China,” Fitrell added. “I’m here to tell you: This changes now.”