The Foreign Service Journal, June 2023

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JUNE 2023 33 under an agreement brokered by the United Nations and Tür- kiye for safe Black Sea export of Ukrainian grain. After international food shipments arrive in African ports, however, there are often problems with storage and road trans- portation. The Republic of Madagascar, an island, is noteworthy for its food storage and transportation issues. Many other African nations suffer from the same logistical problems. Moving Toward Partnerships In several public statements, President Biden has stressed that respect for human rights and democracy are at the core of his for- eign policy. These issues play a role in Africa mainly in implemen- tation of the programs of the MillenniumChallenge Corporation, established with strong bipartisan backing during the administra- tion of President George W. Bush. The MCC judges the eligibil- ity of countries against a list of established criteria decided by independent nongovernmental organizations, including respect for human rights and democracy. The issues of democracy and good governance are possibly the most difficult to evaluate. The American government democracy institutes, the National Democratic Institute and the International Republican Institute, have determined that two consecutive trans- parent, free, and fair elections, as witnessed by impartial observ- ers, qualify a government as democratic. The African governments that have achieved the designation “democracy” are the same as those that have qualified for MillenniumChallenge Corporation compacts. In the first year of the program, eight African countries were declared eligible. Compacts were negotiated that determined how the recipient countries would use large sums of money. The West African Republic of Benin was one of the first countries to sign a compact with the MCC, in 2006. The five-year, $307 million compact with the Government of Benin aimed to increase invest- ments and private sector activity through the implementation of four projects: (1) increase access to land through more secure and useful land tenure; (2) expand access to financial services through grants given to micro, small, and medium enterprises; (3) provide access to justice by bringing courts closer to rural populations; and (4) improve access to markets by eliminating physical and procedural constraints currently hindering the flow of goods through the Port of Cotonou. Successful elimination of constraints hindering the flow of goods through the Port of Cotonou has been, in my view, the most effective part of the Benin compact. Because of the port’s increased efficiency, especially the elimination of long wait- ing time in the port, the West African private sector has shifted much of its cargos to Benin. At the December summit, the MCC announced Benin’s first regional compact, with Niger, a $504 million grant to improve the trade corridor between Cotonou and Niger’s capital city, Niamey. Other African countries that have signed compacts with the MCC include Cabo Verde, Ghana, Lesotho, Mali, Morocco, and Mozambique. MCC investments in Mozambique fisheries have made that country a major exporter of fish products, including a weekly lobster/shrimp flight to nourish the restaurants of New York. U.S.-Africa relations are also active in the military sector. The Africa Center for Strategic Studies, situated in the National Defense University, had a special meeting of African military leaders during the summit designed to enhance professionalism within the African militaries. Finally, the Development Finance Corporation, formerly the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, is giving guarantees to American companies investing in Africa. Including guarantees against expropriation and natural disasters, this initiative is a sub- stantial incentive for private sector investment. Did the 2022 U.S.-Africa summit make a difference in U.S.- Africa relations? On the American side, the word “partnership” served as the key to the American vision. The signal sent to the Africans by that word was that the U.S. will no longer view Africa as a charity case. U.S. funding must be matched by African politi- cal and economic reforms, honestly implemented, that justify the American taxpayers’ efforts. Now for the hard part. n Millennium Challenge Corporation CEO Alice Albright, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (top center), President of Benin Patrice Talon (top left), and President of Niger Mohamed Bazoum (top right) sign documents during the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 14, 2022. SCOTTTAETSCH/U.S.DEPARTMENTOFSTATE