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Biden welcomes Africa leaders in bid to undo image of years of US neglect

US President Joe Biden is at pains to fix perceptions in Africa that the US has neglected the continent while China and Russia make inroads.
He will get a chance on Wednesday when he hosts the first summit of its kind in eight years, one that will see him personally interact with leaders from the continent on trade, climate, and governance.
The schedule includes a forum with American business executives and a dinner on Wednesday at the White House for leaders and their spouses. Biden will meet with delegations from nearly 50 African countries as well as the African Union.
But US officials acknowledge they face an uphill battle in convincing African leaders that they’re committed to reverse years of inattention.
As part of that effort, Biden will announce that the US supports a bid for the African Union to join the Group of 20 forum as a permanent member and for the continent to hold a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. The US is also appointing longtime diplomat Johnnie Carson as a new Special Representative for US-Africa Leaders Summit Implementation to push agreements struck during the three-day event.

Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and key Cabinet officials –- including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen –- are expected to announce plans to travel to the continent in 2023. The administration will host a forum on improving food security in amid the war in Ukraine, which has hobbled grain and fertilizer exports.
And the White House committed $55 billion in funding to Africa over the next three years to address top priorities, including climate change mitigation.
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White House officials declined to detail specifics of the $55 billion investments ahead of the summit, and the total pales in comparison to the roughly $700 billion in infrastructure loans China has offered across the continent. Still, the efforts signal US intentions “to have a real, genuine follow-up from the summit,” White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday.
“We are very mindful of this argument that says, ‘Okay, you’ll hold this summit and then everybody goes home, and doesn’t it just go back to business as usual?,’” Sullivan said.
Biden aides contend that their engagement with African nations is already paying dividends –- and that the summit provides a pivot from former President Donald Trump, whose most memorable gesture toward the continent was dismissing African nations as “shithole countries” in a closed-door meeting.
Sullivan said Biden intends to develop “not just a plan for the next three days but for the years that follow.”
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The first meeting that Biden will chair on Wednesday is focused on “Agenda 2063,” a development blueprint independently written by the African Union that leaders there highlighted as a priority. Talks over renewing and expanding the US African Growth and Opportunity Act -- a law known as AGOA that allows expanded access to the US market –- are also expected to take center stage.
Long lagging behind
Still, some African representatives have bristled at US efforts to play catch-up – particularly when the efforts appear to be part of a broader great-power struggle.
Africa “has been always lagging when it comes to interest and trade,” Rwandan ambassador to the US Mathilde Mukantabana told US Trade Representative Katherine Tai at a Women’s Foreign Policy Group luncheon event on December 8.
The continent is sometimes “seen as a proxy place among superpowers such as the US and China,” she added. She complained that countries including Rwanda have been penalized under AGOA.
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“Is this again going to be a photo op, and they go back, and you go back to what was used to be?” she said.
No one-on-ones planned
Other African leaders have noted that the US continues to primarily address the continent as a whole, rather than through bilateral relationships that would allow countries to raise their individual concerns. Biden is not planning any one-on-one meetings with African leaders in Washington, instead inviting a small group to the White House before the larger dinner.
And some have complained in the weeks ahead of the summit that the White House’s rhetoric about engaging with the continent is undercut by US sanctions and trade restrictions.
Nigerian leaders, for instance, have sought to preserve US military assistance to contain threats including an insurgency in the northeast, so-called “bandits carrying out mass abductions and killings across the northern region and a secessionist movement in the southeast.” That aid is in question amid allegations of human-rights abuses by security forces, triggering restrictions.
“You cannot on the one hand condemn terrorism and on the other hand make it difficult for Nigeria to get arms from those countries,” Femi Gbajabiamila, the speaker of the House of Representatives, said in London on December 6.
Kindness Paradza, Zimbabwe‘s deputy information minister, said the invitation to the summit was a positive development but also showed a “double standard” when weighed against recent US sanctions on President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s son.
“This is a subtle way of ignoring their own sanctions,” Paradza said.
Source: alarabiya
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BENEFIT AGM approves 10%...
- March 27, 2025
BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the company’s headquarters in the Seef District.
During the meeting, shareholders approved all items listed on the agenda, including the ratification of the minutes of the previous AGM held on 26 March 2024. The session reviewed and approved the Board’s Annual Report on the company’s activities and financial performance for the fiscal year ended 31 December 2024, and the shareholders expressed their satisfaction with the company’s operational and financial results during the reporting period.
The meeting also reviewed the Independent External Auditor’s Report on the company’s consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024. Subsequently, the shareholders approved the audited financial statements for the fiscal year. Based on the Board’s recommendation, the shareholders approved the distribution of a cash dividend equivalent to 10% of the paid-up share capital.
Furthermore, the shareholders endorsed the allocation of a total amount of BD 172,500 as remuneration to the members of the Board for the year ended 31 December 2024, subject to prior clearance by related authorities.
The extension of the current composition of the Board was approved, which includes ten members and one CBB observer, for a further six-month term, expiring in September 2025, pending no objection from the CBB.
The meeting reviewed and approved the Corporate Governance Report for 2024, which affirmed the company’s full compliance with the corporate governance directives issued by the CBB and other applicable regulatory frameworks. The AGM absolved the Board Members of liability for any of their actions during the year ending on 31st December 2024, in accordance with the Commercial Companies Law.
In alignment with regulatory requirements, the session approved the reappointment of Ernst & Young (EY) as the company’s External Auditors for the fiscal year 2025, covering both the parent company and its subsidiaries—Sinnad and Bahrain FinTech Bay. The Board was authorised to determine the external auditors’ professional fees, subject to approval from the CBB, and the meeting concluded with a discussion of any additional issues as per Article (207) of the Commercial Companies Law.
Speaking on the company’s performance, Mr. Mohamed Al Bastaki, Chairman BENEFIT , stated: “In terms of the financial results for 2024, I am pleased to say that the year gone by has also been proved to be a success in delivering tangible results. Growth rate for 2024 was 19 per cent. Revenue for the year was BD 17 M (US$ 45.3 Million) and net profit was 2 Million ($ 5.3 Million).
Mr. Al Bastaki also announced that the Board had formally adopted a new three-year strategic roadmap to commence in 2025. The strategy encompasses a phased international expansion, optimisation of internal operations, enhanced revenue diversification, long-term sustainability initiatives, and the advancement of innovation and digital transformation initiatives across all service lines.
“I extend my sincere appreciation to the CBB for its continued support of BENEFIT and its pivotal role in fostering a stable and progressive regulatory environment for the Kingdom’s banking and financial sector—an environment that has significantly reinforced Bahrain’s standing as a leading financial hub in the region,” said Mr. Al Bastaki. “I would also like to thank our partner banks and valued customers for their trust, and our shareholders for their ongoing encouragement. The achievements of 2024 set a strong precedent, and I am confident they will serve as a foundation for yet another successful and impactful year ahead.”
Chief Executive of BENEFIT; Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi commented, “The year 2024 represented another pivotal chapter in BENEFIT ’s evolution. We achieved substantial progress in advancing our digital strategy across multiple sectors, while reinforcing our long-term commitment to the development of Bahrain’s financial services and payments landscape. Throughout the year, we remained firmly aligned with our objective of delivering measurable value to our shareholders, strategic partners, and customers. At the same time, we continued to play an active role in enabling Bahrain’s digital economy by introducing innovative solutions and service enhancements that directly address market needs and future opportunities.”
Mr. AlJanahi affirmed that BENEFIT has successfully developed a robust and well-integrated payment network that connects individuals and businesses across Bahrain, accelerating the adoption of emerging technologies in the banking and financial services sector and reinforcing Bahrain’s position as a growing fintech hub, and added, “Our achievements of the past year reflect a long-term vision to establish a resilient electronic payment infrastructure that supports the Kingdom’s digital economy. Key developments in 2024 included the implementation of central authentication for open banking via BENEFIT Pay”
Mr. AlJanahi concluded by thanking the Board for its strategic direction, the company’s staff for their continued dedication, and the Central Bank of Bahrain, member banks, and shareholders for their valuable partnership and confidence in the company’s long-term vision.
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