The start of October marked the World Bank-IMF meetings in Morocco, hosted on the continent for the first time in 50 years. A key outcome of the meetings was the IMF’s announcement of its intention to create an additional (and third) seat for Africa on its executive board. Although only a small part of larger discussions on how international institutions can be more responsive and inclusive, this additional board seat for Africa is an important step forward. Be on the lookout for a piece from David McNair that takes stock of the various proposals for reforming global financial architecture.
The first week of November, Carnegie Africa attended the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum, hosted this year in Johannesburg, South Africa. We were able to sit in on discussions with the private sector, government representatives, and civil society regarding the future of the trade program as it is set to expire in 2025. There was general consensus on AGOA’s reauthorization—backed by statements of support from President Biden and a bipartisan group of over 13 U.S. senators. Most stakeholders also agreed on aligning AGOA with the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), as well as focusing on new and underutilized sectors, such as pharmaceuticals, digital services trade, and transition minerals. Our Chart of the Month, included below, makes clear that minerals trade is an underutilized aspect of AGOA. It is derived from our recent report that considers how AGOA can be leveraged to meet both U.S. strategic minerals needs and African priorities for processing and adding values to these resources on the continent.
Still, more U.S.-Africa dialogue is needed to align positions and work out details on a number of areas crucial to AGOA’s success. Notably, the stringency of country eligibility requirements is one such critical area. Just before the Forum opened, President Biden announced plans to terminate the AGOA benefits of four countries—Central African Republic, Gabon, Niger, and Uganda—for human rights and governance challenges—and also reinstated Mauritania into the program. This brings the net total suspensions since 2021 to seven countries. Other thorny areas of dialogue could include labor standards.
The Carnegie Africa program was recently in Rwanda to attend the Mobile World Congress-Kigali. Our fellow, Jane Munga, was invited as a speaker for the Policy Leaders Forum session on accelerating affordable smartphone access on the continent. On the sidelines of MWC-Kigali, the Africa Program, in collaboration with the Africa Telecommunications Union, hosted a private roundtable on “Tracking Digital Technologies in Africa”. The roundtable featured a soft launch of our Africa Technology Regulatory Tracker, the first continent-wide aggregate of digital technology laws, policies, and regulations. More updates to come!
Finally, on our radar is China’s recent Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. Last hosted in 2019, the Forum saw an increase in African country attendees, with the Republic of Congo attending for the first time. Additional African countries that attended included Mozambique, Kenya, and recent BRICS members Ethiopia and Egypt. Chinese President Xi Jinping announced more than $100 billion in additional funding as the Belt and Road Initiative enters its second decade. Nigeria signed a $463 million Memorandum of Understanding with a Chinese consortium to increase access to electricity nationwide. China and Ethiopia established an “all-weather” strategic partnership. Finally, Kenyan President William Ruto revealed African interest in expanding the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) from coast-to-coast, with an appeal for funding from Chinese investors.
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Feature by: Zainab Usman, Director, Carnegie Africa Program
