US-hosted Africa summit opens with focus on youth, security

Vice President Kamala Harris arrives to speak to the African Diaspora Young Leaders Forum, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022. [AP Photo]

Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday opened the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington by spotlighting Africa's youthful population - making the case that the continent's demographics will inevitably lead it to become a key global player in the decades to come.

Harris offered the optimistic thread at the start of the Biden administration's three-day gathering that's bringing in leaders from 49 African nations and the African Union for high-level talks. The vice president also announced that the administration would invest an additional $100 million to expand the Young African Leaders Initiative and that the U.S. Export-Import Bank was entering new memorandums of understanding that will clear the way for $1 billion in new commercial financing in Africa.