Africa: Understanding U.S.-Africa Relations During Obama's Presidency

27 February 2012
analysis

Historically, Africa has largely remained in the periphery of American foreign policy interests except where American security is at stake.

Egypt alone, which is of significant security interest to the United States, receives about 20 percent of U.S. aid to Africa. The limited U.S. interest in Africa is also evidenced by the fact that despite the free trade policy efforts of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act, US commercial interests in Africa remain very low. In 2009, of the $282bn foreign direct investment outflows from the US, less than 2 percent went to Africa - the majority of which went to the oil and extractive minerals sectors.

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