AFRICA-US ENGAGEMENT FORUM: AFRICA’S AGENCY TOWARDS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Introduction and Background
In his opening remarks at the Africa-US Engagement Forum, Prof. Mucha Musemwa, the Dean of
Humanities at Wits University, extended gratitude to all attendees and acknowledged the esteemed
partners of the African Centre for the Study of the United States (ACSUS). He noted that since the
establishment of ACSUS in 2018 as a specialised institution tasked with examining United States (US)
activities in Africa, it had developed into a definitive hub for critical knowledge and research on
US-Africa relations and engagements. He also applauded the Africa US Universities initiative (AFUSI),
and assured the meeting that his office, and the university were ready to render support as needed.
ACSUS Director, Dr. Bob Wekesa, who served as the seminar’s moderator, contextualised the event
within the Centre’s larger research on Africa’s agency in relation to global powers, which includes
superpowers, middle powers, and rising powers. The meeting was held on 7 March 2024 and focused
on Africa’s agency in relation to the USA. It sought to examine the characteristics of what the African
agency should entail by examining key areas of convergence and divergence in US-Africa relations.
The gathering took place in a hybrid format; six panellists participated in person and members of the
audience joining remotely as well as in-person.
