Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Obama urges African nations not to make economic 'excuses'

Published 07/28/2014, 04:59 PM
Updated 07/28/2014, 05:00 PM
Obama urges African nations not to make economic 'excuses'

Obama urges African nations not to make economic 'excuses'

By Annika McGinnis

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday gave a preview of a summit he will hold with African leaders next week, saying African nations should look inward for solutions to economic woes and not make "excuses" based on a history of dependence and colonization.

Speaking to 500 young Africans finishing a six-week Washington leadership fellowship, Obama said while it was important for developed countries to consider providing some targeted debt relief, it was time to end the notion that all of African nations' problems resulted from "onerous debt imposed by the West."

"At some point, we have to stop looking somewhere else for solutions, and you have to start looking for solutions internally," Obama told the enthusiastic audience.

"And as powerful as history is, and you need to know that history, at some point, you have to look to the future and say, ‘OK, we didn't get a good deal then, but let's make sure that we're not making excuses for not going forward.'"

Next week's U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington will convene economic and political leaders from across Africa to discuss the continent's development and the U.S. role in partnership and investment.

Obama's remarks amounted to a rejection of comments last month from Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, who said Western "neo-colonial" domination of Africa has impeded the continent's development. Nguema blasted what he said were too-low exchange rates, problems with natural resources' pricing and Western-imposed "barriers to international trade" at a summit of the 54-nation African Union.

Obama said there was not a "single country" in Africa that could not be doing better with the resources it had.

© Reuters. U.S. President Obama speaks at the Summit of the Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders in Washington

"There are a lot of countries that are generating a lot of income, have a lot of natural resources, but aren't putting that money back into villages to educate children. There are a lot of countries where the leaders have a lot of resources, but the money is not going back to provide health clinics for young mothers," he said.

(Reporting by Annika McGinnis; Editing by David Gregorio)

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.