Africa Development: Unveiling Global Initiatives and Crafting a Self-Empowered Future
Last Friday, the Saudi Arabia-Africa summit ended in Riyadh, first one of its kind, it involved leaders from Africa with the Saudia kingdom. The summit focused primarily on economic cooperation and security issues. This one was just one of many other summits, including the US-Africa Summit, the EU-Africa Union Summit, Japan's Tokyo International Conference of African Development (TICAD), the Russia-Africa Summit, the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, and the UK-Africa Investment Summit. It’s not uncommon to have these summits focus on Africa since Africa is the only continent with less development and huge potential in terms of economy, population, and market. Also seeking global hegemony, one should have influence in Africa too.
However, other megaprojects and initiatives that are directed at Africa and other developing nations have also surged, such as the Road and Belt Initiative by the Chinese government, one of the ambitious infrastructure projects in the world. Global Gateway, under the European Union, and the G7, led by the US’s Build Better Back World initiative. The Chinese planned to add more than $100 billion to the BRI, and 300 billion euros have been placed in plan for the EU’s Global Gateway up to the year 2027.
These numbers are very impressive and promising, but this has to be viewed differently by the recipient of these funds, Africa. Since most of the funds are in the form of aid and grants, scholars and economists argue that African countries should act cautiously, referring to the history of aid in Africa and elsewhere and claims of ‘debt trap diplomacy'. There should be plans to execute the programs well and utilize them effectively for the betterment of both sides.
As the English saying goes, “no free lunch in London,” all those summits and initiatives have something behind them, mostly playing as ‘Trojan Horse' to cement their interest and dominance in the continent, which can be witnessed in the way they compete on flooding the continent with funds.
Despite the efforts from the big powers, I would suggest more should be done inside Africa to double the effects of what is expected to be achieved by those superpowers. Fighting corruption and mismanagement of funds should be prioritised because they cause major setbacks to the development of Africans. Also, the effort should go along with accountability and transparency. Additionally, it is essential to enhance the purchasing power of locals so as to reinforce the national economy through income tax revenue, promote the diversification of the economy, and seek partnership and collaboration, not just loans and aid.
In other words, the initiatives may be tricky and convincing, but with clear plans for the future, each side will end up benefiting equally, and ambitions will be met.