Planned for this month, the US-Africa energy summit which was to be held in New York has been cancelled. This is “because of the denial of US visas to the vast majority of registered African participants, which, as a result, defeated the purpose of the summit and made it untenable,” the event’s organizers said.

According to Samba Baldeh, Gambia native and elected official in the US, the denials are part of new policies of the Trump administration. “These denials are for everyone, from visits from a member of an immediate family, to former heads of state,” he said.  Baldeh believes the policy is gradually isolating USA from the rest of the world.

Mary Flowers, one of the event’s organizers, for her part told Voice of America, that about 40% of visa requests were denied in the past. This year, the figure soared to an astounding 100%.

Explaining the denials, an official from the US State department said: “Visa applications are not automatically denied. Each visa application is considered individually and in accordance with US law”. He further added that the country is open to “tourism and business”.

Gwladys Johnson