Why Trump has invited five African leaders to the White House

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

86% : This is great," Trump responded.
82% : During a televised lunch at the White House on Wednesday, the African leaders lavished Trump with praise while encouraging US economic partnership.
65% : Watch: Trump praises Liberian president's English, the country's official languageSenegal President Bassirou Diomaye Faye complimented his golf skills, inviting him to build a golf course in Senegal.
55% : Seated diagonally from Trump across a long wooden table, Mauritania President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani was the first African leader to speak.
55% : Guinea-Bissau, which has suffered a series of coups and attempted coups over the years, is reportedly keen for the US embassy to reopen in the capital, Bissau, following its closure after the army mutinied in 1998.President Umaro Cissoko Embaló was clearly proud of the White House's invite for Guinea-Bissau, which several years ago was labelled a "narco-state" by the US and UN as it was once a major transit hub for cocaine from Latin America to Europe and North America.
52% : Abdou Aziz Diédhiou & Yūsuf Akínpẹ̀lú & Brandon DrenonBBC News, Dakar & Lagos & Washington DCGetty ImagesDonald Trump wants to do business in Africa - and is not interested in aidUS President Donald Trump began a three-day summit in Washington DC with the leaders of five African states, an event the White House sees as an "incredible" commercial opportunity.
50% : His remarks were echoed by the other African state leaders, most of whom made direct comments in support of Trump being nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.
50% : With Trump and the Republican Party at the helm, there is also doubt about whether the US will renew later this year its African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), which guarantees duty-free access for certain goods from Africa.
48% : Indeed Nicaise Mouloumbi, head of a leading non-governmental organisation in oil-rich Gabon, said the Trump administration's focus on Africa was down to increasing competition from rival powers - including China and Russia - for its prized resources.
39% : He and his counterparts - Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema of Gabon, Joseph Boakai of Liberia, Mohamed Ould Ghazouani of Mauritania and Bassirou Diomaye Faye of Senegal - will be hoping they hold some cards to do a deal with Trump.
38% : Getty ImagesLiberia's health system is fragile - and before Trump, US funding accounted for 48% of its budgetLiberia may also be considering a US proposal to accept people deported by the US, including criminals.
33% : After taking office in January for his second term, Trump cut US aid to the continent, saying it was wasteful and incompatible with his "America First" policy.
29% : They certainly do not want a replay of May's infamous high-stakes meeting between South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa and Trump in the Oval Office, which did little to ease relations.

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