New deal: African countries ask for win-win partnerships

"Time for a new deal with Africa" is the theme of a forum organised by the French Council of Investors in Africa (CIAN) in Paris on Tuesday.

The African continent is a major supplier of energy to the European Union, and has many raw materials and rare metals that are essential to the energy transition and are highly sought after around the world.

For Anthony Nkinzo Kamole, Director General of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) National Investment Agency, global development will not happen without the continent.

"Today, when you look at coltan, and all the derivatives that are behind it, we can only talk about the DRC. And I also mentioned phosphate and potash. Today, these are extremely important elements in the DRC and this proves that it key to Africa. The future of the world is playing out in Africa and the future of Africa is in the DRC," he said.

Industrialisation is an essential pillar of African development. To achieve this goal, the DRC is banking on its "Industrialisation Master Plan", which costs 58 billion dollars. The aim is to revive the sector by focusing on three key areas.

"First of all, it is the agri-food sector, then energy, which is extremely important, and then infrastructure. And these $58 billion are distributed on the issues of ports, airports on the issues of energy and on the issues of hydrocarbons and these are elements that are extremely important on these industrial projects," said Kamole.

These projects will be carried out together with European partners.

In Senegal, the government wants to create the best business conditions for companies as Abdoulaye Baldé, Director General of the Senegalese Agency for the Promotion of Investment and Major Works (APIX) explains.

"For several years now we have been reforming the business environment, and we are among the best reformers in Africa. This means that all the conditions are met for investment and, given the great demand and excellent prospects for Senegal, we have, under the auspices of President of the Republic Macky Sall, the intention to organise an international forum on investment in July, called Invest in Senegal." 

"This will be an opportunity to take stock of the situation but above all, to identify new prospects for both the public and private sectors. So these are excellent prospects that are open to our country," he said.

Delegations from Niger, Chad and the Congo came to the conference. They all agreed on one point: the need for a paradigm shift, essential to ensure local production and a better redistribution of wealth.

In the era of the New Deal, African countries are open to partnerships, on condition that it’s a win-win for all.