In January 2026, the United States and the African Union took a landmark step in redefining the U.S.-Africa commercial relationship. Signed by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and AUC Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf in Addis Ababa, the launch of the U.S.-Africa Strategic Infrastructure and Investment Working Group (SIWG) established a formal, high-level platform for aligning U.S. private sector investment with AU-backed infrastructure priorities — directly addressing an estimated $68 billion to $108 billion annual infrastructure financing gap that has long constrained Africa's economic transformation. 

The SIWG represents a decisive shift from aid-driven models toward durable, commercially viable infrastructure investment — focusing on four interconnected priorities: transportation corridors and logistics networks; energy and digital infrastructure; critical minerals and commodities supply chains; and the regulatory harmonization needed to accelerate two-way trade. These priorities align directly with Africa's strategic corridors agenda — the integrated ecosystems of ports, rail, roads, digital networks, and power transmission that are emerging as the continent's most powerful vehicles for industrialization, regional integration, and private sector-led growth under Agenda 2063 and the AfCFTA. 

This invitation-only roundtable convenes senior U.S. and African government officials, private sector leaders, and development finance institutions to move from framework to action. Participants will examine how the SIWG's platform can be leveraged to accelerate corridor development, mobilize private capital at scale, structure bankable projects across priority sectors, and build the public-private coordination mechanisms needed to close the infrastructure financing gap — turning one of the most ambitious U.S.-Africa partnerships in recent memory into measurable, on-the-ground outcomes.