DAKAR, Senegal — U.S. President Donald Trump is hosting five West African leaders on Wednesday for a ''multilateral lunch'' at the White House as the region reels from the impact of U.S. aid cuts.
The leaders of Liberia, Senegal, Gabon, Mauritania and Guinea-Bissau are expected to discuss key areas of cooperation, including economic development, security, infrastructure and democracy, according to a statement from the Liberian presidency. The White House has not provided further details.
The surprise meeting comes as the Trump administration has taken radical steps it said are meant to reshape the U.S. relationship with Africa.
Earlier this month, U.S. authorities dissolved theU.S. Agency for International Development, and said it was no longer following what they called ''a charity-based foreign aid model'' and will instead focus on partnership with nations that show ''both the ability and willingness to help themselves.''
The U.S. African Affairs senior bureau official Troy Fitrell earlier this year said that Trump administration wants to focus on eliminating trade deficits with Africa.
''Assistance involves a donor and a recipient, but commerce is an exchange between equals,'' he said.
Critics say that the abrupt shift will result in millions of deaths.
A study published in the Lancet medical journal late last month projected that USAID's dismantling and deep funding cuts would lead to more than 14 million additional deaths globally by 2030, including 4.5 million children.