Emerging powers in Africa: Regional and national economic linkages in Eastern and Southern Africa

Examining how regional trading blocs and national governments in Africa engage with their international partners, and how they seek to maximise domestic benefits through their regional and international partnerships.

Research event Recording
30 March 2022 — 8:00AM TO 5:30PM
Online

The three videos on this page are of the keynote address and the sessions on strategic minerals and the international relations of debt.

The integration of African economies into global trade and investment systems means that African leaders and governments have an expanding menu of foreign policy choices to support the pursuit of their domestic developmental ambitions.

Emerging economies from around the world are developing their political and economic relations with African states in pursuit of complex strategic goals, including access to natural resources and influence.

The opportunities that these bilateral arrangements present for African economies are underpinned by multilateral trade and investment agreements at a regional level.

Some of these are longstanding, such as the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), and continue to operate alongside more recent agreements, including the fledgling African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

For African governments and regional bodies to effectively navigate these bilateral, multilateral, regional and international relationships to deliver developmental benefits for citizens, there must be broad public understanding of what these external interests are, and what can be positively achieved from international relationships. 

This hybrid event aims to support governments’ foreign policy decision-making and strategic planning by looking at how regional trading blocs and national governments engage with their international partners, and how they seek to derive national benefit by leveraging both regional and international partnerships.

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