The King of Morocco, the presidents of the ADB and the AU preach sustainable growth
Incredible but true ! During the 4th Forum on Investment in Africa organized from November 8 to 10, 2023 in Marrakech by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the President of Tanzania affirmed that she once had to “go through Paris to France” to be able to land in Senegal. An anecdote which reveals the problems of air connectivity between African countries, but beyond that, the lack of synergy to tackle the continent's economic and climatic challenges together, as many high-ranking personalities have regretted.
The Africa Investment Forum (AIF) closed on November 10 in Marrakech, Morocco. This fourth edition saw the participation of high personalities from the continent including Mohammed VI the King of Morocco, Akinwumi Adesina, the president of the African Development Bank and Azali Assoumani the president of the Union of the Comoros, also at the head of the African Union (AU). All agreed that it was time to “liberate Africa’s value chains” in view of the multiple economic and climatic crises which accentuate the vulnerability of the 55 African countries.
“The continent faces complex economic challenges, exacerbated by geopolitical tensions that extend beyond our borders and add to the effects of climate change. The use of debt as the main source of financing national policies also weakens our room for maneuver. Faced with this situation and the scale of development financing needs, the role of the private sector is becoming increasingly important to support public action through sustainable and necessary investments,” explained Mohammed VI, in particular to the regional and international financial institutions.
Africa wakes up
The Moroccan monarch did not fail to note some notable advances in Morocco, notably the “4.1 GW of installed renewable energy power” , across the Shereef kingdom. A diversification of the electricity mix welcomed by the Pan-African Akinwumi Adesina. According to the President of the ADB, the energy transition is the key to countering stunted growth. For example, he suggested that the size of the electric vehicle value chain would increase from $7 trillion currently to $57 trillion by 2050.
This market should not escape Africa because “the continent represents the largest source of green metals for this industry, particularly platinum (70%), cobalt (52%), manganese (46%)…. » . It is therefore a vibrant appeal which is launched to investors a few years before the great demographic explosion (2.5 billion Africans in 2050, according to the United Nations). For his part, the Comorian president placed emphasis during the AIF2023 meetings on free interregional movement and the circular economy while “exports of African manufactured products represent only 1% of world exports” he said. -he regrets.
