U.S. President Barack Obama hopes the summer of 2014 will go down in history as a defining chapter in U.S.-Africa relations.
Buzz is building around the U.S.-African Leaders Summit, which will, for the first time in U.S. history, convene nearly all of the African heads of state in Washington, D.C. — only those countries currently suspended from the African Union (the Central African Republic, Egypt, Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau) or under U.S./U.N. economic sanctions (Eritrea, Sudan and Zimbabwe) have been excluded.
“During the last week of July and first week of August, rely on public transportation” in Washington, Gayle Smith, senior director at the White House National Security Council, told attendees at a recent discussion about the summit — alluding to the expected increase in traffic congestion due to motorcades and street closings.