29 Nov 2024

African Think Tank

Association For Strategic Culture and Research Foundation

African Think Tank

Russia-Africa Summit: The Roadmap to Africa, Shift in Geopolitical Relations

Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent warm greetings to African leaders, business people and participants early October, signaling that everything is set for the first Russia-Africa Summit in Sochi, southern coastal city of Russia.

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

26 February, 2021

China and Russia Launch a ‘Global Resistance Economy’

The U.S. will ignore the message from Anchorage. It is already testing China over Taiwan, and is preparing an escalation in Ukraine, to test Russia.

By Alastair Crooke

15 March, 2021

African Leaders Must Prioritise Climate Risks – Verkooijen

In this insightful and wide-ranging interview, Professor Patrick Verkooijen, Chief Executive Officer of Global Center on Adaptation discusses the organization’s establishment, its main objectives, challenges and plans for the future.

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

19 August, 2021

Debt Situation in Developing Countries

The coronavirus pandemic has worsened the debt situation in many developing countries

By Sergey Karataev

23 August, 2021

US Values Vs Chinese Values: Empire Vs Bandung As Seen From Cape Verde

The humiliation of Africa and China at the hands of Europe and the US cannot be brushed aside. When considering China’s current investment in Africa and Africa’s openness to this investment – it is imperative to include the long African and Chinese struggles against western imperialism.

By Aidan O’Brien

14 September, 2021

Europe’s Priorities to Cushion Africa

In Africa, we have the paradox that 6 out of 10 of the most quickly growing countries, most dynamic economies are African economies but at the same time, 36 most vulnerable countries are also in Africa. It is a very heterogeneous continent. And all countries will be affected but for most, if we do not give debt relief, and I mean much more than just freezing payments, we are going to go into a crisis of external debt, and this we cannot afford.

By Josep Borrell

21 September, 2021

Power without Soft Power: China’s Outreach to Central Asia

While the international community focuses on the Uyghur Muslim and the Wakhan Corridor, the main threat to the Central Asian states will continue to be the lack of water supplies, which will lead to conflicts between countries in the region and, perhaps, with neighbors such as China and Russia.

By Michael Lambert

21 September, 2021

Foreign Competition In Guinea: The Scramble For Natural Resources

Guinea has struggled with political instability and endemic corruption since its independence from France in 1958. Despite the country’s poor infrastructure, there is a significant foreign presence in Guinea. Countries are mostly competing for its mineral resources, such as gold, diamonds, bauxite, and iron ore. The United States, along with other foreign powers, vies for access to these resources and for the ability to influence the country’s government.

By Jessica Pickering

22 September, 2021

Women’s Empowerment And The Merkel Effect

Before Merkel’s leadership, history recognized a number of famous empowered women, such as Queen Elizabeth, the monarch for the UK and 15 other Commonwealth realms; and the “Iron Lady” Margaret Thatcher, who was UK prime minister from 1979 to 1990 and leader of the country’s Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990.

By Dr. Diana Galeeva

4 October, 2021

Q&A: At Midterm, Sierra Leone President Vows to Continue Reforms

With two years left in his term, Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio told Voice of America that expanding political freedoms, improving education, holding past leaders accountable for corruption, and promoting gender equality are his administration’s priorities.

By Peter Clottey, Voice of America (VOA)

26 October, 2021

What Next After Sudan Changes Guards At The Crossroad?

Besides the search for peaceful political pathways, Sudanese authorities need to address the deep-seated economic deficiencies and tackle common problems (basic infrastructure) facing people in micro levels of the society. This also relates many African countries.

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

27 October, 2021

France and Africa: Towards a New Model of Relations?

In recent decades, French foreign policy in Africa has been preoccupied with a jump-start of relations with the African nations, marked by a gradual curtailment of the Françafrique, a concept that provided for a direct military and political intervention in affairs of the French-speaking nations on the continent. France is now in search for a more balanced framework for interaction with the countries in the region.

By Alexei Chikhachev

9 November, 2021

Mozambique: Rule Of Law Prevails On Chang Extradition, But At A Price

Judge Margaret Victor overturned a decision by South Africa’s Justice Minister Ronald Lamola in August this year to send Chang to Mozambique to face similar charges in the US$2 billion ‘hidden debts’ scandal.

By Peter Fabricius

17 November, 2021

The United States and Africa: Building a 21st Century Partnership

We welcome the African Continental Free Trade Area, because we want to see Africa’s economic power in the world grow. More consumers should gain access to African goods and services. More jobs must be created for Africa’s young people – the global workforce of the future.

By Antony J. Blinken

25 November, 2021

China and Africa Move into New Era of Cooperation

Africa is experiencing a flowing tide of solidarity and self-strengthening, and the continent’s influence in international affairs continues to grow. It is now forging ahead with the development of free trade zones, accelerating industrialization and modernization, and heading towards the bright future envisioned in the AU’s Agenda 2063.

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

30 November, 2021

Building China-Africa Community With Shared Future

This year marks the 65th anniversary of the start of diplomatic relations between China and African countries. Over the past 65 years, China and Africa have forged unbreakable fraternity in our struggle against imperialism and colonialism, and embarked on a distinct path of cooperation in our journey toward development and revitalization. Together, we have written a splendid chapter of mutual assistance amidst complex changes, and set a shining example for building a new type of international relations.

By H.E. Xi Jinping

2 December, 2021

Russia-Africa Relations: “Geopolitical Arena with Many Players Operating”

Russia has to upgrade or scale up its collaborative engagement with Africa. It has to consider seriously launching more public outreach programmes, especially working with civil society to change public perceptions and the private sector to strengthen its partnership with Africa. In order to achieve this, it has to surmount the challenges, take up the courage and work consistently with both private and public sectors and with an effective Action Plan.

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

8 December, 2021

China will donate 1 billion covid-19 vaccines to Africa

Apart from flagging the threats of China’s model of engagement with developing countries, the US and other countries have not been able to provide any tangible alternatives (US has sought to further increase its outreach vis-à-vis Africa in recent years, and it seeks to increase economic engagement under the umbrella of the Indo-Pacific.

By Tridivesh Singh Maini

9 December, 2021

China And Uganda’s Entebbe International Airport: Reading Between The Lines

In the aftermath of this development, Ugandan authorities have been consistently insisting on three issues: The grace period is yet to expire and that the Ugandan government is confident of not defaulting on any obligations on repayment; that the terms of the loans are semi-concessional in nature and in line with Uganda’s infrastructure financing programme; and in the interest of transparency, the government has made the loan agreement available to the members of the Parliament.

By Abhishek Mishra

11 December, 2021

Africa-China Relations Could Serve as Bulwark against Imperialist Hegemony

Note: These remarks were prepared and delivered in part for a webinar held on Sunday December 12 entitled “China/Africa Relations: Challenges of Cooperation and Development.” The event was sponsored by the International Manifesto Group and the Group for Research and Initiative for the Liberation of Africa (GRILA).

By Abayomi Azikiwe

14 December, 2021

Europe Unveils U.S.$340bn Response to China's Belt and Road Initiative

The aim of the EU programme -- called Global Gateway -- is to help underpin the global recovery by mobilising investments in digital, clean energy and transport networks, as well as boosting health, education and research systems across the world. Low and middle-income countries were already facing a US$2.7 trillion infrastructure investment gap before the pandemic, according to World Bank estimates.

By Cable News Network

15 December, 2021

The New Era Of Great Power Competition And The Biden Administration: Emerging Patterns And Principles

Geostrategic Interactions. Russia and China present distinct competitive threats to the United States around the globe. In many regions, Russia often poses the more immediate challenge, whereas the repercussions from Chinese economic investments manifest themselves subtly and will likely undermine U.S. strategic interests more gradually.

By Thomas F. Lynch III

27 December, 2021

Financing Africa’s Post-Covid-19 Development

The financing needs to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) estimated at $2.5trillion for developing countries, was substantial even before the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has exacerbated the financing challenges. According to the 2021 OECD Global Outlook, the annual SDG financing gap in developing countries is estimated to have increased by $1.7 trillion, or roughly 70%, in 2020

By Ms. Vera Songwe

27 December, 2021

Nonsensical Propaganda Campaign To Make China Look Bad In Uganda

The article in the Daily Monitor, which was written by Yasiin Mugerwa, said that the Chinese authorities were going to take control of the airport because of the failure of Uganda to pay off the loan. A few days after the Daily Monitor article, U.S. media company Bloomberg also ran a similar article on November 28 without providing any further details on this news development, as did other U.S. and international outlets. The story by the Daily Monitor, meanwhile, went viral on Twitter, WhatsApp, and beyond.

By Vijay Prashad

5 January, 2022

Debunking The West’s Top Ten Lies About Chinese-African Relations

The present analysis will identify and subsequently debunk the West’s top lies about Chinese-African relations. What comes next is a list of lies followed by the motive behind each. Then they’ll be discredited with the facts.

By Andrew Korybko

11 January, 2022

US-China Sustainable Infrastructure Collaborative Opportunities: Green Partnerships Must Begin In Africa

The United States has an opportunity to work closely with African nations and China to implement new infrastructure projects sustainably. The US must take advantage of China’s rhetoric on adherence to new environmentally friendly practices. The ‘green’ way must become the only way to conduct infrastructure projects.

By Hannah Bases

13 January, 2022

Africa’s Path To Recovery In An Uncertain World

Beyond the health crisis, securing the recovery will be a complex task, requiring policymakers to make difficult trade-offs to meet people’s immediate and long-run needs, while avoiding excessive debt. Achieving this balance is never easy, but it is more challenging than ever in today’s uncertain environment. Each country’s course will be guided by its own circumstances, including economic growth, inflation pressures, budget space, and its ability to attract public and private financing.

By Kristalina Georgieva, Macky Sall

13 January, 2022

Libya Struggling Economic: Bringing the Oil Sector Back on Track

The Libyan oil sector also faces frequent obstacles and disturbances from employees, most of which are related to the closure of oil facilities as a result of

By Miral Sabry Al Ashry

24 January, 2022

The State and Future of Africa

The creation of $650 billion in new Special Drawing Rights last year was a step in the right direction but more needs to be done to enable African and other developing countries to access the SDRs that are not needed or being used by developed or emerging economies. It is also clear that public debt vulnerabilities will dominate macro-economic policy management in Africa over the next few years.

By His Excellency, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo

27 January, 2022

Burkina Faso Military Coup Reflects Wave of Insecurity in West Africa

The U.S. nor France has the willingness to provide genuine assistance to the African people in their contemporary struggles for economic development and territorial sovereignty. The mass sentiment against Paris and Washington is well-founded. What is needed is revolutionary organization which can bring together the people of the region in a program aimed at continental unity and socialist reconstruction.

By Abayomi Azikiwe

1 February, 2022

A Conversation With Ghana’s Vice-President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia

In an exclusive interview with PAV, Dr Bawumia sheds light on progress with key segments of the agenda of President Akufo Addo under his purview, COVID 19, and other seminal developments across the continent.

By Ajong Mbapndah L

17 February, 2022

Russia and the Maghreb: Future Geostrategic Perspectives?

Today, the Maghreb is not a fundamental interest for Russia, but rather a source of economic and political opportunities. The Russian redeployment in the Maghreb, which began during Vladimir Putin's second term in 2004 and has been over the last decade, relies on new vectors, distinct from the old anti-imperialist aura from which the Soviet Union had benefited in Algeria and Libya.

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

23 February, 2022

Climate Change Impacting Southern Africa from Malawi to Madagascar

The countries of Mozambique, Malawi and Madagascar contribute almost nothing to the advent of climate disasters. These states should be assisted with relief efforts and the building of infrastructure designed to minimize the impact of cyclones and other serious weather disturbances.

By Abayomi Azikiwe

24 March, 2022

Once in a Century Opportunity

In short, the financial war on Russia gave the West an unmistakable lesson from Moscow that the hardest currencies are not USD or EUR, but rather oil, gas, wheat, and gold. Yes, energy, food and strategic resources are currencies.

By Alastair Crooke

5 April, 2022

Libya crisis: oil production declines by 50%

The average price of regular gasoline has topped $4 a gallon in recent weeks in the US, which is nearly 50% more than last year. Natural gas prices have also risen significantly, which has led to an increase in the cost of electricity and home heating.

By Miral Sabry Al-Ashry

11 July, 2022

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