Emerging players in Africa: What's in it for Africa-Europe relations?

This meeting report details a policy dialogue organized by the European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM) and the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) in March 2011. The event focused on the implications of engagement by China, India, and Brazil (CIB) in Africa and how this affects Africa-Europe relations, emphasizing the need for mutual learning, triangular cooperation, and African-led development strategies.

• European influence in Africa's external relations has diminished as African states now have a wider array of development partners, particularly emerging economies like China, which have become key priorities for Africa following the financial crisis in the North.
• There is a perceived need for mutual learning between traditional partners and emerging powers; for example, China could learn from the EU's methods of fighting corruption and interacting with non-state actors, while the EU and USA could learn from China's commercial engagement strategies in Africa.
• Participants emphasized that any dialogue for mutual learning must be owned and driven by African actors to ensure alignment with African objectives and to maintain the leverage African states gain from having diverse partner options.
• Reconciling commercial interests with altruistic development values remains a significant challenge. Participants suggested that a more balanced approach coordinating Official Development Assistance (ODA) and non-ODA flows, as well as public and private actions, is necessary for development effectiveness.
• Triangular dialogue between emerging economies, traditional donors, and African countries is seen as valuable but requires a neutral process to ensure ownership. Participants noted that no such neutral process currently exists, though forums like the G20 Cannes Summit or the Fourth UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries were discussed.
• Effective triangular cooperation is more likely to succeed if it focuses on specific sectors and technical levels initially, rather than attempting to reach a high-level policy consensus on overall development objectives.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2011). Emerging players in Africa: What's in it for Africa-Europe relations? https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/ecdpm_saiia_final_report_apr2011final.pdf

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Emerging players in Africa: What's in it for Africa-Europe relations? 2011. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/ecdpm_saiia_final_report_apr2011final.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Emerging players in Africa: What's in it for Africa-Europe relations? |date=April 2011 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/ecdpm_saiia_final_report_apr2011final.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2011emerging, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Emerging players in Africa: What's in it for Africa-Europe relations?}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2011}, month = apr, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/ecdpm_saiia_final_report_apr2011final.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }