A few days ago, two events highlighted the economic and geopolitical importance of the African continent in the global competition between the United States and China.
US Foreign Minister Antony Blinken was visiting Nigeria, the continent’s largest economy. He had a message: from now on, the United States will take Africa very seriously, and not just because of its natural resources. He has promised a new relationship and confirmed that a summit will be held next year between Joe Biden and African leaders. Barack Obama hosted one in 2014. He then made a short stop in Dakar, Senegal. Chance doing things right, this is where the traditional China-Africa economic summit was going to open.
China is indeed a leading player in Africa. It has been organizing summits with African leaders every three years for the past twenty years.
The Chinese are investing heavily in infrastructure and mines. Trade between China and Africa is now reaching $ 200 billion a year.
China is not neglecting security issues, as evidenced by its only military base abroad, in Djibouti, and its 2,000 peacekeepers deployed in Congo, South Sudan, Darfur and Mali. Finally, she heals her soft power by welcoming tens of thousands of African students each year, a way of training and influencing future elites.
China and the United States are not the only powers rushing to a continent where the former French and British colonial powers are trying to maintain their dominance. India, Brazil, Turkey, Germany, Russia, South Korea and Japan are increasing investments, cooperation offers and security programs. They copy the concept of summits with African leaders, a concept invented by France almost 50 years ago. Even Israel is trying to organize one.
PHOTO SIMON MAINA, FRANCE-PRESS AGENCY
Shoe production, Kigali, Rwanda
Where is Canada?
All these countries have understood the potential offered by the African continent: a demographic dynamism which favors the rapid growth of a large middle class, an increasingly educated population, abundant natural resources, a more open trade framework with the very recent signature, by all African countries, of an agreement establishing a free trade area covering the entire continent, and significant diplomatic weight in international bodies.
Canada is lagging behind. Its imprint is slowly fading on the continent. Thus, while Turkey has just opened its 43e embassy in Africa, Canada has closed several and only has twenty, as many as little Norway, a country of 5 million inhabitants.
Ottawa has never held a summit with African leaders, and Justin Trudeau declined an invitation to address the African Union in 2016.
Visits from Canadian politicians are rare. Between 2007 and 2017, the most important Chinese leaders made 79 visits to 43 African countries, while under the Harper and Trudeau governments, there are only ten for the same period. China, India, Germany and Turkey are deploying thousands of peacekeepers in UN missions to ensure stability in certain regions of Africa, Canada… around thirty.
This indifference towards the African continent has diplomatic and economic consequences. Canada has twice failed to be elected as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, with African votes failing. While Canadian mining companies are well established on the continent, manufacturing companies and agricultural producers are struggling to develop new markets due to lack of government support.
Alarm bell
Faced with this situation, the Business Council of Canada has sounded the alarm. In a report released last year, he called on Ottawa to take a serious look at Africa. For the Council, the government’s objective of “making Canada a more globally connected economy by increasing foreign exports by 50% by 2025” can only be achieved by developing a strategy towards this continent. Currently, trade between Canada and Africa is underperforming. Thus, “while Canada more than tripled its exports to Africa between 2001 and 2018, India multiplied them by 10 and China by 17”, writes the Council.
It seems that the Council’s message has been heard, but very timidly. During the September elections, Liberals and Conservatives put forward some proposals to strengthen the Canada-Africa relationship.
Until the early 2000s, the Canadian presence in Africa was a tangible and noticed reality. Canadian missionaries, aid workers, peacekeepers, diplomats and investors formed a dynamic network and enabled Canada to multiply its influence on the international stage. This presence declined as Canada fostered the development of its relations with Latin America and the Indo-Pacific region. It was a logical choice given its geographical position and the economic growth of these two regions.
The situation has changed and Africa has become the horizon of many powers. Can Canada find a place there? In any case, Africans think so.
There is still a great deal of sympathy among them towards Canada, as evidenced by a recent opinion poll by the firm Immar. Immar surveyed opinion leaders in 12 African countries comprising nearly 60% of the continent’s population. When asked which non-African countries you have the best image of, Canada comes third behind the United States and Germany, and France seventh. On the question of which foreign partners are the most beneficial for the continent, Canada comes second after Germany, and France, eleventh.
This enthusiasm for Canada is manifesting itself at a time when France’s presence is contested and when China’s commercial and financial practices arouse mistrust. So it opens up a space for Canadians. Ottawa would still need to map out its foreign policy in which Africa would find its place. This continent, we have a past there, we could have a future.
* Jocelyn Coulon was political advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2016-2017. He just published Canada in search of an international identity.