George Washington University location USC 309 Theater style (stage)

Friday, February 20, 2026 10:45am-2:15pm

Event Overview
 

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has had a monumental impact on Sino African relations over the past few years. We at Operation US Africa are bringing experts in Africa, China, and the United States to discuss the economic ramifications of this project including infrastructure construction, investment, and critical minerals. Social impacts including the change in diplomatic perception of China compared to the United States in Africa.
 

10:30am - 11:00am Check in, Breakfast provided
 

11am - 12pm: High Level Dialogue: US-Africa ties in the context of the BRI in Africa

The United States has had consistent bipartisan interest in the construction of the Lobido Corridor to receive critical minerals to counter Chinese influence. This conversation comes at a critical moment in US-African relations where the US can change its position to a country focused on economic development in Africa rather than just aid. We seek to foster professional discussion and bipartisan agreement on actions the US should take to collaborate with nations as partners. This panel will examine the American and African perspective on the BRI and how the US position on the continent has changed since its introduction in 2014.
 

• Dr. Guevara Yao, Vice President, US-Africa Business Center
• H.E. Frank Tayali, Minister of Transport and Logistics, Republic of Zambia (virtual, if confirmed)
• TBD African Affairs at Dept. of State
• Moderator: Mr. Julian Pecquet, US Correspondent at the Africa Report (confirmed speaker)
   

12pm-12:30pm Lunch Break
 

12:30-1:30pm: Economic Impact of the Belt and Road Initiative in Africa

From military exercises in South Africa, to construction of ports in Ghana to railways in Kenya, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has made a substantial imprint on the Africa continent. This panel will evaluate the Economic impact of the project on countries across the continent whether through improving economic trade axes such as bridges, roads, and railways, increasing the exploitation of rare earth minerals, the BRI has changed interpretations of the sphere of African investment to make infrastructure construction more feasible. Furthermore, the emerging market for Chinese goods such as electric vehicles, cellphones, and t-shirts sold at lower cost than their Western counterparts have flooded African markets. This panel will explore the Economic Impact of the Belt and Road Initiative and corresponding Chinese influence in Africa.

Ambassador (ret) Troy Fitrell, fmr. US Ambassador to the Republic of Guinea, Board Member, SAGINT (confirmed speaker)

Mr. Andrew Dabalen, Africa Chief Economist, World Bank (confirmed speaker) 

Ebenezer Obadare, Douglas Dillon Senior Fellow for Africa Studies, Council on Foreign Relations (confirmed speaker)

Moderator: Professor David Shinn, Former US Ambassador to Burkina Faso and Ethiopia (confirmed speaker)
 

1:35pm-2:35pm: Social Impact of the Belt and Road Initiative in Africa

The Belt and Road Initiative with its infrastructure endeavors has a social subsection focused on promoting China in African media and in the social consciousness. This panel will discuss exactly how much the Chinese efforts at improving infrastructure and engaging African elites impact how Africans view China in the context of great power competition with the United States and its overall reliability as a diplomatic partner.

H.E. David Kiplagat Kerich, Kenyan Ambassador to the US

Associate Professor at Georgetown University, Ken Opalo (confirmed virtual speaker)
 

End