United States President Donald Trump’s unexpected invitation of five West African leaders from Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal for an extraordinary multilateral meeting in Washington was primarily to review and reshape the U.S. relationship with Africa. According to White House official documents, the key areas of cooperation also included economic development, security, infrastructure, and democracy. The meeting was attended by the presidents of Gabon (Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema), Guinea-Bissau (Umaro Sissoco Embaló), Liberia (Joseph Nyuma Boakai), Mauritania (Mohamed Ould Ghazouani), and Senegal (Bassirou Diomaye Faye).

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