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The UK's Political and Economic Engagement in Africa Africa Programme Transcript Values and Commerce: The UK's Political and Economic Engagement in Africa Speaker: James Duddridge MP UK Minister for Africa Chair: Alex Vines OBE Research Director, Area Studies and International Law; Head, Africa Programme, Chatham House 15 September 2014 The views expressed in this document are the sole responsibility of the speaker(s) and participants do not necessarily reflect the view of Chatham House, its staff, associates or Council. Chatham House is independent and owes no allegiance to any government or to any political body. It does not take institutional positions on policy issues. This document is issued on the understanding that if any extract is used, the author(s)/ speaker(s) and Chatham House should be credited, preferably with the date of the publication or details of the event. Where this document refers to or reports statements made by speakers at an event every effort has been made to provide a fair representation of their views and opinions. The published text of speeches and presentations may differ from delivery. 10 St James’s Square, London SW1Y 4LE T +44 (0)20 7957 5700 F +44 (0)20 7957 5710 www.chathamhouse.org Patron: Her Majesty The Queen Chairman: Stuart Popham QC Director: Dr Robin Niblett Charity Registration Number: 208223 2 Values and Commerce: The UK's Political and Economic Engagement in Africa James Duddridge MP Africa has long been a special place to me. About 20 years ago I arrived in Swaziland where I met my wife, and we’ve travelled around Africa extensively since then. Over the years I have worked as a banker in Swaziland, Cote d’Ivoire, and Botswana. I have also chaired the UK Parliament’s All Party Parliamentary Group on Africa, which has been very influential to me over the last few years. I was delighted when the prime minister appointed me as minister for Africa. It is a vast and challenging portfolio, which mirrors the vast challenges and opportunities to the continent more generally. I want to focus today around two questions: why is the UK so engaged in Africa, and what do we want to achieve there? Firstly – what drives our engagement? As you already know, the UK has great historic links with Africa. But it is part of our present as well as our past. We have a large African diaspora across the UK. Hundreds of thousands of British nationals visit Africa every year, and many thousands more live there. Today, Africa’s story is increasingly one of opportunity. Sub- Saharan Africa has a population of a billion people. Africa has six of the ten fastest growing economies in the world - and forecast to outpace the world economy by almost 2 per cent a year to the end of the decade. Its population is young - and growing. It has access to vast resources – Nigeria is the 12th largest oil producer in the world and has the continent’s largest gas reserves. There remains huge potential across Africa. So it is in all our interests to foster its long-term, sustainable growth. To achieve it, though, you need peace and security. Around 70 per cent of UN Security Council business is on Africa - and as a P5 member, the UK has a central role. Security also requires what Prime Minister David Cameron calls the ‘Golden Thread’, of open societies and open economies, the rule of law, transparency, free markets, a vibrant private sector, stable government, free media, fair elections, an effective civil society, and the ability of African citizens to hold their governments to account. Tackling both conflict and poverty helps Africans live more secure and prosperous lives – and reduces threats to the UK. Finally, the UK’s core values drive us to be active in Africa - whether promoting human rights, or preventing sexual violence in conflict. No other continent has such a range of opportunities and challenges. So, it is clear that Africa must be at the heart of British foreign policy. Our primary aims for Africa are peace, prosperity and partnership. Let me take each in turn. Partnership with African countries is happening across the board already. One in four of the world’s countries are in Africa. Three African countries, Chad, Nigeria, and Rwanda, currently sit on the Security Council. 18 African countries are Commonwealth members. These are crucial and complicated alliances in a turbulent world and these alliances help us build peace and prosperity for all. We need a genuine partnership with Africa. Under this government, we have opened six new embassies or high commissions in Africa. We have increased our political and commercial resources across Africa. We have accelerated our engagement with the African Union. We have re-energised the UK’s relationship with the Commonwealth, of which 18 African countries are members. We work closely with those African countries on the Security Council, not just on African issues, but on a range of global challenges. 3 Values and Commerce: The UK's Political and Economic Engagement in Africa Our partnership is about prosperity and investment, about security and peace, about building the linkages between the UK and Africa to ensure both Brits and Africans can seize the opportunities that the 21st century presents. However, partnership with Africa is also about values and how to pursue them. We do not seek to impose a model, or claim we always know best. Societies evolve at a pace only they can set. But we should, and do, stand up for certain universal values to which African, European and other countries have signed up to, and promote them when we feel they are under threat. Like everywhere else, we believe Africa will prosper when the rights of all are respected. That is why we will continue to work with governments, businesses and civil society on human rights and the rule of law. We will stand up for equal rights for all; challenge the death penalty; and forcefully condemn mistreatment, torture, and the abuse of rights. Africans would not forgive us if we chose to ignore such universal values. It should be recognised that these are not African issues- they are global issues. There are strong partnerships with Africa to help us achieve our objectives on prosperity, peace and security. Our aim on peace and security is to protect citizens in the UK, as well as Africa, by preventing, managing and resolving conflict, and combating threats like terrorism and piracy. I will give some examples, which show just how crucial international partnerships are. Two weeks ago, I made my first overseas trip as a minister to Nigeria, for a multi-national summit on Boko Haram. The immediate focus is on strengthening efforts to bring stability and security to the region and preventing more incidents like the Chibok abductions. We have dramatically increased UK developmental, military, and intelligence capability to Nigeria to tackle the security threats in the northeast. However, there must also be a holistic approach to the northeast. An effective humanitarian response, economic development and political initiatives – these are all crucial parts of the jigsaw. Nigeria must lead on delivering these, and I stressed that to the Nigerian government. But international support will be key if we are to tackle the issue of Boko Haram, not just for Nigeria but for the African Union. Resolving conflicts, such as those in Somalia and South Sudan, is also a priority. We hosted international conferences in 2012 and 2013 to help Somalia rebuild its institutions and public financial management systems. And this week I will meet the Somali prime minister ahead of an international event we are jointly hosting in London to support development of the Somali National Army, which is critical for Somalia’s long-term stability. In South Sudan, the UK helped secure the EU sanctions regime announced in July. We are using our diplomatic might to ensure the issues South Sudan is facing are brought to the fore so that there is a lasting settlement to what is an utterly unacceptable and entirely man-made conflict. But, progress in resolving conflict is fragile and easily reversible. Her Majesty’s government’s engagement, whether bilaterally, regionally, or through our leadership of the UN and European Union, is long-term and designed not just to promote immediate peace but also to get lasting solutions to, and prevention of, conflict. International co-ordination is increasingly important to alleviate the humanitarian crises that the conflicts bring. The UK is the second largest donor to the relief effort in South Sudan, allocating £125m for refugees from the conflict there and in the wider region. 4 Values and Commerce: The UK's Political and Economic Engagement in Africa Our support has provided food assistance to 160,000 South Sudanese and clean water to even more. But the needs are still huge and the humanitarian appeal is only half funded. So I will press my international colleagues to increase their commitments at the UN general assembly next week, as will the prime minister in bilateral meetings. Across the border in Sudan, the UN estimates that there are now 7 million people- 20 per cent of Sudan’s population- in need of humanitarian assistance. Nearly 400,000 people have been displaced this year in Darfur alone. We continuously lobby all parties to the conflict to respect international law, to enable a neutral and impartial humanitarian response and allow access to those in greatest need. Of course, I cannot talk about humanitarian crises in Africa without mentioning Ebola. The UK is supporting our friends in West African countries by providing £25 million for frontline treatment, funding to develop a vaccine and to support a 62-bed medical facility in Sierra Leone.
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