The United States–Africa Leaders Summit 2014 was an international summit held in Washington D.C. from August 4–6, 2014. Leaders from fifty African states attended the three-day summit, which was hosted by U.S. President Barack Obama. The summit primarily focused on trade, investment and security of the continent. Leaders from 50 of the 54 existing African sovereign nations were invited to attend. After the summit, the White House produced a number of Fact Sheets that summarized major outcomes. Background In 2013, President Barack Obama made his three-nation tour of Africa, in which he announced his plans to host a summit of leaders from across Africa. America's annual trade with the continent is about $85 billion compared to China's $200 billion. According to an interview with The Economist, Obama welcomed foreign investment in the continent saying "the more the merrier" and advised African leaders to ensure that local workers benefit from the infrastructure projects and that the roads shouldn't "just lead from the mine, to the port, to Shanghai." On July 31, 2014, four days before the beginning of the summit, there was an On-the-Record-Conference Press Call released by the White House Office of the Press Secretary that included discussions and details of the conference. The participants were (1) Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications; (2) Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs; and (3) Gayle Smith, Senior Director for Development and Democracy at the National Security Council. Agenda The summit focused on trade and investment and underlined the United States' commitment to the continent's people, democracy and security. It facilitated the discussion on how to deepen these partnerships. US Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker said that new deals worth about $900 million would be announced at the summit. A number of organizations have written to President Obama to draw particular attention to the rights of LGBT Africans. The Human Rights Campaign and Human Rights First issued a statement urging Obama to include the discrimination against this minority in the agenda and described this summit as a 'once-in-a-generation moment' to promote equality. Homosexuality is criminalized in 37 Africans states. It is punishable by death in four countries: Mauritania, Nigeria (states under Sharia law), Somalia and Sudan; and up to life imprisonment in Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Only South Africa grants full marriage equality and constitutional protection against discrimination. A Program of Events was released on the