On Wednesday, January 28, 2026, the commission of the African Union (AUC) and the United States have launched a working group on strategic infrastructure and investment, referred to as “Strategic Infrastructure and Investment Working Group (SIWG)”. The launch was made at the end of a meeting between the President of the AUC, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, and American Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau.

Strategic Infrastructure and Investment Working Group (SIWG) aims to mobilize quality infrastructures promoting trade, stimulate private sector investment, and advance continental priorities in the framework of Agenda 2063. According to the African Development Bank style="font-size:14.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: "Bookman Old Style”, serif">, the continent's annual infrastructure needs are estimated between 130 and 170 billion dollars, when only 4% of GDP is currently there consecrated. Thus, this partnership with Washington aims to offer a platform intended to encourage private investment in projects carried out by the African Union.

The SIWG will serve as a platform for top officials and technical experts from the AUC and the American government, in order to identify and promote investment opportunities and engagement of the American private sector in infrastructure projects supported by the AU, by facilitating commercial infrastructures and logistics, as well as digital transformation across the continent.

The State Department American states that “these investments “will take advantage of the authority and expertise of the AU, as well as American capital and innovative financial tools, to develop supply chains in minerals and essential raw materials, transport corridors, energy networks and regulatory harmonization”.