The US state Secretary Antony Blinken announced a 10-year program to strengthen democratic governance in sub-Saharan regions of Africa. The program is going to have a budget of 2 billion US dollars.
The investment will be directly under the Global Fragility Act. The act aims to establish harmony, inclusivity, and resilience in “places riddled with conflict.”
Blinken made the announcement last Monday during his speech in South Africa. He plans to visit at least three countries in Africa, initiating the tour with South Africa, following DR Congo, and then Rwanda.
Several countries are going to be benefitted from the initiative, most notably Mozambique and the West African coastal nations like Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, etc.
For the next 10 years, the initiative plans to build upon the prevention of civil disputes, strengthening relations between the government, community leaders, and security forces.
The program wants to diffuse any tensions and build resilience to the impacts of climate change like more frequent droughts and drastic weather conditions.
In the fact sheet presented, the US also plans to boost trade ties and “engage with African Partners to expose and highlight the risks of negative PRC and Russian activities in Africa.”
Over the past decade, the US trade exchange with Africa has deteriorated drastically. In 2008, the US foreign investment was estimated at $142 billion which decreased to $64 billion in 2021.
Currently, the biggest trade partner that Africa has is China and interestingly China started to invest in Africa more around 2009, just a year after US investment started to drop.
The program is rooted in the belief in ending conflicts that have been pestering the countries.
Recently, Russia has been building more trade ties with Africa by supplying Cereals to African countries, while the country has also been sending its diplomatic people to Africa. Russia also has started to build upon military ties by supplying weapons and security services.
The US-Africa summit is to be held around the time of winter this year, most probably in December. The summit aims to discuss issues such as food security.
Africa and the future
There have been dozens of publications coming up in the last few months which indicate the presence of newly discovered minerals in regions of Africa. Coupled with the discovery, Africa also has high rates of digital adoption which unlocks a myriad economic potential for investors both domestic and foreign.
The poor infrastructure and developing technology in Africa also present huge investment potential for investors. Development in poorly maintained areas can also benefit African citizens.
Human resources also have untapped potential in Africa, the growing population is going to be an asset to the continent.
Growth and Economic stability in Africa
According to the World Data lab, Africa currently has a growing middle class. As the population is stabilizing and growing, there also rises the opportunity for increased demand for consumers.
Africa also relatively has the potential for natural resources like natural gas. According to The Guardian Nigeria, there are at least 800 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered natural gas on the continent.
Investing in Africa in the present times might prove to be beneficial to several nations that aim to build trade ties with African countries. But with the climate crisis coming closer, it is still unknown what the future holds for Africa and the rest of the world.
Countries like the US and other developed nations must help Africa to combat the severe problems that will be caused by climate change.
Africa is enriched with natural resources and potentially human capital for the future. Programs to uplift and boost the sustainable development of the continent are a great initiative.
African nations have lots of potential in terms of growth and development which should not be hindered by climate change. A lot of poor African nations have no resources or capital to fend off severe weather conditions and the fear of climate change is just looming over. It is certain to say that these countries deserve a chance and big richer nations should assist them to move in a positive direction ahead for their future.
Read More – U.S. Strategy Toward Sub-Saharan Africa
