Opinion | In the new ‘Scramble for Africa’, nations have much to gain – but they can’t ignore the risks
- It is to Africa’s advantage that the jockeying for influence between China, the US, EU and other regional powers brings critical investment for development
- However, African leaders are also wary of being caught in the crossfire of geoeconomic competition
The last two months of 2021 have clearly indicated that Africa will be centre stage for geoeconomic competition by major economic blocs next year.
On December 19, a number of African leaders, led by African Union chairman Félix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, met in Brussels to prepare for the EU-African Union summit early next year, where a number of investments are expected to be announced.
A 21st-century version of the “Scramble for Africa” is taking place. In 1884, Western European powers held a conference in Berlin, which marked the starting point of the Scramble for Africa, or the occupation, division and colonisation of most of the continent.
The motivation for this new scramble for Africa is the same: hunger for the continent’s massive natural resources. The only difference is that, today, it is happening with the consent of the continent’s leaders.