UK’s partnership with Africa to boost trade and development: article by Vicky Ford
The UK Minister for Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean wrote for Times Red Box about UK support for Africa to build a more resilient and sustainable future.
Increased trade and investment has lifted tens of millions of people out of poverty since the turn of the century.
However, tariffs, red tape and limited infrastructure are holding back trade and development across Africa.
That’s why free and fair trade forms the cornerstone of the UK’s ambitions for global development and has strong political support in Africa.
African economies are rapidly transforming into global economic powerhouses, with the continent forecast to be the home of one in four global consumers by 2050. This remarkable growth potential presents boundless opportunities for African and UK businesses.
As the world’s largest free trade area, connecting 1.3 billion people, the new African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will simplify the existing web of the continent’s regional trade agreements by providing one set of rules to govern trade in goods and services.
The opportunities this creates has the power to lift 30 million people out of extreme poverty, drive industrialisation, create jobs, and generate significant benefits for women.
For UK businesses, it means lower tariffs and increased market access within the continent. This will directly reduce the costs and complexity of trading within Africa, making it easier for businesses to expand.
The UK’s world-class expertise in sectors from tech to transport, healthcare to horticulture means we are perfectly placed to work with African partners to realise the potential of free trade and achieve our development goals.
Meanwhile, we are pulling out the stops to drive trade and investment growth with Africa even further and faster.
For example, British International Investment (BII), the UK’s Development Finance Institution, invested over £800 million across Africa in 2020 alone to support productive, sustainable and inclusive growth.
That’s why we were pleased to welcome Wamkele Mene, Secretary General to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), to London this week to discuss how the UK can continue its work as a strategic partner to this continental endeavour.
It’s why the UK was the first foreign partner to sign a Memorandum of Understanding supporting the AfCFTA last year, and why we are proud to announce a package of up to £35 million to support its implementation, providing trade facilitation and policy support to the AfCFTA Secretariat and its member states.
This support complements the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) we have agreed with 17 African nations worth over £18 billion since Brexit, securing continuity for almost all UK trade across the continent.
Support for projects in Africa from our export credit agency UKEF is at its highest in decades, helping foreign countries access the finance they need to invest in growth opportunities.
And in January, over 3,000 businesses attended the UK’s Africa Investment Conference, built on the success of the 2020 Africa Investment Summit where 27 trade and investment deals worth £6.5 billion and further commitments worth £8.9 billion were announced.
These milestones demonstrate our overall commitment to African development and complement our broader partnership with the African Union which serves to promote values of free and fair trade across the world, and the power of trade for good.
Governments and business are most effective when we work together on a common agenda, in this case to help liberalise trade and investment across borders and across continents.
So, let’s continue to strengthen our economic ties in this fast-changing region, as we work side-by-side to deliver freer, fairer, greener growth.
And let’s continue to be proud of the United Kingdom’s support of Africa to build a more resilient and sustainable future for all.