Regional integration makes sense for Africa. Addressing the challenges of small markets, small economies, the lack of infrastructure and the pernicious effects of non-tariff barriers (NTBs) require regional initiatives to complement and support national efforts. The COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted the interconnectedness of Africa’s economies, and the need for regional responses to challenges that transcend national borders. But integrating unequal partners is a difficult task.
L’Etiopia per ora non cede e intende procedere alla seconda fase del riempimento della diga GERD sul Nilo. Le operazioni sono previste per luglio, una mossa portata avanti nonostante le proteste del Cairo e di Khartum. Le due capitali temono che la riduzione del flusso d’acqua abbia conseguenze disastrose sul piano economico, sociale e demografico. Già sono in sofferenza e un calo delle forniture potrebbe essere fatale, infatti parlano di una minaccia alla sicurezza nazionale.
Between December 2020 and January 2021, the Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi made two official visits to Africa in a row (1st round: Tunisia, Mozambique, South Africa Mauritius, 2nd round: Senegal and Kenya) to discuss future collaboration with these countries with an eye set on the forthcoming TICAD8 to be held in Tunis in 2022. An annual visit by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi followed in early January 2021, kicking off the year of FOCAC to be held in Senegal this year.
There has been intensified geopolitical jostling in the Asian sphere towards the African continent in recent years, driven by, on one hand, Asian regional dynamics, and on the other, the opportunities that changes in Africa’s political economy have presented to external players. The promising narrative of ‘Africa’s rise’ has seen a growing number of Asian states vying to hold sway in Africa’s expanding markets and infrastructure development agenda. The struggle for influence is also manifesting strongly in the diplomatic arena.
The impact of Covid-19 on Africa and the developing world has been foremost an economic crisis, followed by a health crisis that will have profound implications for the China-Africa economic relationship in the years to come. The pandemic represents a critical juncture for China’s role in development finance in Africa and for commercial relations, but we are also likely to see continuity and growth in China-Africa diplomatic engagement and in other areas of cooperation.
Asia’s rising economic footprint in Africa became a significant talking point and the literature on Asian influence in Africa, often dubbed as the ‘new scramble for Africa’, proliferated. Although all the major Asian countries had already established long-term relationships with Africa, the 2000s saw a substantial deepening of economic relations between Asia and Africa. China was undoubtedly the most prominent among them. Chinese trade, investment, and official financial flows to Africa grew substantially from 2000 onwards.
Africa has been in the middle of unforeseen international competition for the better part of the past two decades. Both the return of traditional players – notably European countries and the United States – as well as a marked new interest shown by emerging economies led the continent out of the substantial neglect it suffered during the latter years of the past century.
Rilasciate circa 300 studentesse rapite pochi giorni fa. Ma chi sono i responsabili e cosa c’è dietro il fenomeno dei sequestri di massa nel nord della Nigeria?
Rilasciate circa 300 studentesse rapite pochi giorni fa. Ma chi sono i responsabili e cosa c’è dietro il fenomeno dei sequestri di massa nel nord della Nigeria?
La morte in Niger di sette membri della Commissione elettorale nazionale indipendente (CENI), uccisi dallo scoppio di una mina nella regione di Tillabéri, ha funestato il secondo turno delle elezioni presidenziali nel paese, domenica 21 febbraio.
L'uccisione dell'Ambasciatore Luca Attanasio, il carabiniere Vittorio Iacovacci e l'autista Mustapha Milambo accende i riflettori sulla Repubblica Democratica del Congo e sulle dinamiche di insicurezza profonda che attraversano la regione nord-orientale del paese. Tra le violenze endemiche delle milizie armate e le tensioni politiche interne, la stabilità in Congo-Kinshasa resta lontana.
Come interpretare le violenze armate nella regione? E quali possibili risposte da parte della comunità internazionale?
La Repubblica Democratica del Congo (RDC), lo abbiamo sentito ripetere spesso in questi giorni, è uno “scandalo geologico” e dalle sue miniere dipende gran parte della tecnologia mondiale.