Africa today is challenged by potent global trends calling for the member states to strengthen their solidarity, most notably the international rise of the far-right, said African Union Commission Chairwoman Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma Wednesday.
She made the remarks in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa at the opening of the 30th Ordinary Session of the union’s Executive Council, made up of African foreign ministers ahead of the upcoming leaders’ summit slated for Jan. 30. “We are building Africa’s future in a fast-changing world with contradictory trends,” she said, citing Brexit and the rising far-right in both the U.S. and possibly in critical European elections this year.
Zuma was particularly critical of the new Donald Trump administration, which she said “threatens the consensus on climate change, attacks hard-won women’s rights, and move towards protectionism.” Abdalla Hamdok, acting executive secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa, echoed her ideas.
“The outcome of the U.S. elections and Brexit are two examples of dissenting voices against globalization,” Hamdok said. “We [Africa] may experience a loss of momentum towards negotiating development-friendly trade agreements.” Citing what he called “global mega-trends,” Hamdok said the world financial landscape is seeing dramatic changes hurting Africa’s capacity to finance its development.
According to him, implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will require an estimated $3 trillion a year. “For Africa alone, financing needs are estimated at $638 billion a year.”