Schlagwort: africa

Rethinking cooperation with Africa

Photo of a chruch in Addis Abbeba

What could international cooperation look like that promotes economically, socially and environmentally sustainable development in the interests of the global common good? A few weeks ago, Andreas Freytag and Stefan Liebing argued here that modern cooperation with Africa had to be based on private-sector investment, market principles in project selection, and competition between partner countries for international investment. Paternalism in development policy should be replaced with principles of competition and the social market economy.…

Africa and globalisation: Transforming from taker to shaper?

Photo: TruesizeofafricaIn recent years, a growing number of G20 nation states have used various forms of summit diplomacy to enhance engagement with the African continent through regular high-level meetings. These have been operationalised through initiatives such as the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, India-Africa Forum Summit, Africa-EU Summit, the Korea-Africa Forum, the Turkey-Africa Partnership Summit, the United States-Africa Leaders Summit, and the Tokyo International Conference on African Development. Except for the summit with the EU, all of these initiatives are essentially putting together a single country with an entire continent. The partnerships span the parameters of both South-South and North-South cooperation, presenting opportunities for the African continent to diversify its international relations and cooperation.

For Africa, the G20 Hamburg Summit is a door stopper, not a bookend

Image: Céline CharveriatThe news emerging from Hamburg were dominated by the narrative of the emerging 19 +1 on issues such as climate change or trade protectionism. Yvanka Trump replacing her father in the US seat was a particularly juicy bit, with few realizing that happened when the leaders were discussing Africa. Street protests and the 9th Beethoven symphony played in the brand-new Elbphilharmonie capped what was after all a fair attempt by Germany and Chancellor Angela Merkel to give direction to a group that has become a target of cynical criticism.

Outcome of the first T20 conference in Africa

For the first time since the establishment of the Think20 (T20) process, Think Tanks from across Africa have met with T20 Think Tanks to discuss the G20 agenda and potential opportunities for Africa-G20 cooperation. The T20 Africa conference was organized by the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), the German Development Institute / Deutsches…