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Daniel Nosu
A win-win relationship for African development.
With its good policies towards African countries, the United Arab Emirates has become a strategic economic partner of the African continent in just a few years. The UAE’s policy includes promoting the development and well-being of Africans through the provision of relief in the short term and partnership development projects to develop Africa in the long term. As such, many African leaders have opted to establish economic relations with the UAE for economic development. To that end, the UAE has reinstated one of the world’s oldest trade routes, which had previously become a major gateway to Africa and the continent’s second-largest foreign investor after China.
The relationship between the African continent and the UAE is a two-way relationship. In fact, African companies are offering their expertise in several fields such as infrastructure and construction in Dubai. More than 21,000 African companies in the emirate of Dubai are boosted by incentives such as tax breaks, visas and Islamic financing. These companies directly contribute to the development of their respective countries, thereby affecting millions of Africans.
UAE Etihad 7 initiative to help African countries.
The initiative was launched at the events of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2022, a UAE-led innovation programme. It aims to finance renewable energy projects in Africa and provide clean electricity to 100 million people by 2035. It will raise funds from the public and private sectors to invest in clean energy under the direction and coordination of the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Office of the Special Envoy for Diplomacy and International Cooperation and Climate Change. Mainly, the initiative will help African countries meet their urgently growing energy needs without a corresponding increase in greenhouse gas emissions.
The UAE calls on international institutions to support Africa’s development.
The UAE’s relationship with African countries goes beyond a win-win relationship. In fact, the UAE takes every opportunity to support the African continent. In this regard, the country’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Amira Al-Hafeiti, said in a statement at the Conference of the Parties (COP27) that the international community should invest in clean energy and climate, support Africa’s development, maintain stability and prevent conflicts. She stressed that the international community “must remember that fragile states, especially those in Africa, currently receive less climate finance than other developing countries, and this gap must be bridged, as climate finance is an investment that directly maintains stability and prevents conflict. .”
The UAE’s support for Africa also includes counter-terrorism, as the UAE believes that the African continent is now facing dangers that threaten security and peace, not only in the region, but in the world as a whole, linked to the escalation of terrorism by organisations and groups such as Al Qaeda and the Islamic State. . If African countries need military support, now led by France in the Sahel and the United States in Central Africa, then countries on the continent also need general forms of economic and humanitarian support. Notably, the UAE will host the 28th COP in 2023 to combat climate change and contribute to sustainable development projects globally and in Africa.
Broader economic relations with Africa.
The UAE’s economic ties with African countries are deeply rooted and broader. In fact, non-oil trade with Africa has grown by 700% over the past 15 years, from $33 billion in 2015 to $50 billion in 2019, according to the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
There are six regional headquarters in the energy sector, eight in the financial services sector, seven in the automotive and parts sector, and five in the technology sector. According to Infomineo, then into categories: wholesalers, aerospace and defense companies, healthcare, and finally, transportation.
Dubai plays a huge role in Africa’s development. In fact, Dubai is a hub that plays an important role in African trade, competing with commercial cities such as Nairobi, Johannesburg, Cairo and Accra; therefore, plays a vital role as a business hub. Arguably, African countries have invested $15 billion; this reflects the UAE’s role in supporting Africa’s development.
In this regard, the UAE intends to build strategic relationships based on mutual respect and common interests; not the exploitation of the continent’s resources.
Nigeria has specific economic cooperation and coordination with UEA.
Economic relations between Nigeria and the UAE are booming. In fact, the UAE and Nigeria signed a memorandum of understanding in December 2020 to establish a joint committee to strengthen cooperation and coordination between the two countries in various fields, especially in political, economic, cultural, judicial and security; As well as encouraging cooperation between the two countries in the field of business and investment, exchanging experiences and following up on the implementation of agreements, protocols, memorandums of understanding and implementation plans signed by the two countries.
Notably, the UAE-Nigeria relationship began in 1982, with the country opening its embassy in Abuja in 2009. In addition, non-oil trade between the two countries in 2019 reached US$1.45 billion.
The views expressed by the contributors are purely personal and not affiliated with TheCable.
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