Trump to host five African leaders next week to discuss 'commercial opportunities'

WASHINGTON: U.S. President Donald Trump will host leaders from five African nations in Washington next week to discuss "commercial opportunities," a White House official said on Wednesday.

Trump will host leaders from Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania and Senegal for a discussion and lunch at the White House on July 9, the official said.

"President Trump believes that African countries offer incredible commercial opportunities which benefit both the American people and our African partners," the official said, referring to the reasons why the meeting was arranged.

Africa Intelligence and Semafor reported earlier that the Trump administration would hold a summit for the five countries in Washington from July 9-11.

The Trump administration has axed swaths of U.S. foreign aid for Africa as part of a plan to curb spending it considers wasteful and not aligned with Trump's "America First" policies. It says it wants to focus on trade and investment and to drive mutual prosperity.

On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. was abandoning what he called a charity-based foreign aid model and will favor those nations that demonstrate "both the ability and willingness to help themselves."

U.S. envoys in Africa will be rated on commercial deals struck, African Affairs senior bureau official Troy Fitrel said in May, describing it as the new strategy for support on the continent.