Browsing: Africa trade with China

The US is pushing for friend-shoring pacts with Asia and Africa looking for more commitment in deal.

Can US do more to bridge trade relations with Africa?

Countries

Pundits advise that the US is better off supporting the African Union’s Agenda 2063 even though the US strategy is exclusive for Sub-Saharan Africa. However, that part of Africa is still accounted for in the continent-wide Agenda 2063. It would bode well for all parties concerned if US support to Sub Sahara Africa served to help the region better place itself in the overall African vision.

There is the matter of friend-shoring as well, Africa feels the US gave Asia a much better deal, more explicit, more concrete, specific and committed than it ever did with the motherland. How will it play out? Will the US-China trade war help Africa secure a better deal from China than the US?

Even though the strategy does mention a willingness to facilitate ‘new geographic groupings’, it is not specific as to what these new alliances are and what they will mean in terms of trade and even security.

Yes, there is the mention of integrating African states in the overall Indian Ocean and Indo-Pacific forums, but that only spells out the obvious, ‘the U.S. would like to have Africa on its side in its ongoing trade tug of war with China in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific.

Dr Nzenza 1 e1650582967159

UAE overtakes South Africa to become Zimbabwe’s top trading partner for the first time

Industry and Trade

Bilateral relations between the two countries improved after the UAE showed its benevolence. This was by sending aid in response to the Cyclone Idai storm in March 2019. Planeloads of humanitarian assistance were sent to Zimbabwe, which went a long way in helping victims and mitigating the impact of the cyclone. UAE also assisted the Southern African country’s fight against Covid-19 with a consignment of required medical drugs.

Early March, the new dispensation approved the establishment of a commercial consulate in the commercial hub of Dubai. Economic and trade attachés will operate in the consulate. This is an effort to complement investment promotion being done by Zimbabwe’s embassy in the UAE.

In a cabinet briefing published by The Herald on March 17, 2022, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Ambassador Frederick Shava said the development created an environment conducive to doing business.