Africa’s emerging global partnerships

The document examines Africa's shift toward diverse global partnerships to foster development, peace, and security. It analyzes the structural goals of the African Economic Community (AEC) and the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) while critiquing the impact of globalization and 'economic imperialism'. The author details specific frameworks such as the Africa-India Forum, the Joint Africa-EU Strategy, the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), and the Africa-South America Summit, noting a 'new scramble for Africa' driven by the demand for natural resources. The paper argues that while these partnerships offer opportunities, African nations must reclaim responsibility for their own development paths to avoid repeating colonial patterns of exploitation.

• Africa faces unique developmental challenges characterized by small average economy sizes (GNP), low household incomes compared to other least developed countries, and a heavy reliance on foreign capital due to low domestic savings.
• The African Economic Community (AEC) is being established through a six-stage process over a transition period of up to 34 years, moving from strengthening regional economic communities to the creation of a single domestic market and a pan-African currency.
• Globalization has negatively impacted African trade; the continent's share of global exports of goods and services fell from 4.2% in 1985 to 1.8% in 1999, while trade restrictions in industrialised countries cost sub-Saharan Africa $20 billion annually in lost exports.
• A 'new scramble for Africa' is occurring as the US, EU, China, India, and South American nations compete for the continent's natural resources, particularly oil, gas, metals, and industrial diamonds.
• China's engagement in Africa is driven by domestic demand for raw materials and strategic influence rather than altruism, often utilizing state-owned enterprises and a 'non-interference policy' regarding the political regimes of its partners.
• The Africa-India partnership focuses on mutual benefit in politics, security, and economics, with specific cooperation frameworks for agriculture, SMEs, and the development of cross-border and Pan-African stock exchanges.
• The Africa-EU relationship is guided by the Joint Africa-EU Strategy (JAES), which prioritizes peace and security, democratic governance, trade, climate change, and the achievement of Millennium Development Goals by 2015.
• South-South cooperation between Africa and South America, formalized in the 2006 Abuja Declaration, aims to harmonize positions on international trade and exploit opportunities in energy, technology, and agriculture.
• Climate change is expected to have devastating effects on Africa, exacerbating the depletion of land fertility, the ravaging of forests, and the exhaustion of water supplies.

APA

Tadesse, D. (2009). Africa’s emerging global partnerships. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/P189.pdf

Chicago

Tadesse, Debay. Africa’s emerging global partnerships. Institute for Security Studies, 2009. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/P189.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Tadesse |first1=Debay |title=Africa’s emerging global partnerships |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=June 2009 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/P189.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{tadesse2009africas, author = {Tadesse, Debay}, title = {{Africa’s emerging global partnerships}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2009}, month = jun, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/P189.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }