Musings From Abroad

China’s Xi vows to support Angola’s economic diversification plan

Published

8 months ago

March 16, 2024

As Angola seeks to diversify its economy, Chinese President, Xi Jinping, has said he will support Chinese companies investing in its agriculture and manufacturing sectors.

Xi told visiting Angolan President, Joao Lourenco, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, that, “The Chinese side is willing to work with Angola to implement key infrastructure projects and support strong Chinese companies to go to Angola to carry out various forms of cooperation.”

The visit by Lourenco follows Angola’s announcement in December that it would leave the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and end its cooperation with China.

Xi told Lourenco on Friday that Chinese firms could “help Angola achieve agricultural modernisation, industrialisation and economic diversification,” the state media report said, part of Beijing’s long-term drive to deepen economic and political ties with Africa.

Angola owes Chinese creditors just under $21 billion, according to World Bank data, so China has a vested interest in its economic overhaul. To finance its transition, Luanda does not have enough non-oil revenue sources to support Lourenco’s structural reforms. He will be accompanied by his agriculture minister on this visit.

China and Angola signed an investment protection agreement in December, while Angolan firms will have tariff-free access to China’s massive consumer market starting Dec. 25. As part of the agreement, the two leaders agreed to upgrade bilateral ties to the level of a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, allowing for greater trade and investment.

Since Angola joined China’s Belt and Road Initiative in 2014, Chinese firms have invested close to $12 billion, with just under half of that going into the country’s energy sector in the southern African country, according to data from the American Enterprise Institute think tank.

In a recent assessment of Angola’s economy, the International Monetary Fund said “heavy dependence on the oil sector” put Luanda at a high risk of missing the 0.5% growth target the Fund forecast for 2023, as the IMF expects its oil sector to have shrunk by an annual 6.1% over last year.

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Musings From Abroad

Nigeria, India to strengthen counterterrorism, maritime security cooperation

Published

4 hours ago

November 18, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

During a state visit to Nigeria on Sunday, Indian Prime Minister, Narendra, Modi reached an agreement, on behalf of his country, to strengthen cooperation in counterterrorism, intelligence, and maritime security.

President Bola Tinubu invited Modi to visit Nigeria, the first Indian prime minister to do so in 17 years.

Tinubu is looking for investments from some of the largest economies in the world.

In addition to discussing economic development, defence, healthcare, and food security, Modi and Tinubu met at the presidential mansion on Sunday after arriving in the capital, Abuja, on Saturday night, according to a joint statement.

The two nations decided to work together to protect maritime trade routes and fight piracy in response to the mounting risks in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Guinea.

The most populous country in Africa, Nigeria, is looking to attract more Indian investment and lower-cost credit lines in order to strengthen its economy and generate employment.

Nigeria announced last year that it had obtained about $14 billion in pledges from Indian businesses, including Jindal Steel and Power, which promised to spend $3 billion in Nigeria’s steel industry, during the G20 conference.

Over 200 Indian businesses are present in Nigeria.

Modi was scheduled to go to Brazil for this year’s G20 conference after Nigeria.

Nigeria and India have a long-standing and cordial bilateral relationship. Nigeria, home to more than 200 million people, and India, home to 1.3 billion people, are both sizable emerging nations with multilingual, multiethnic, and multireligious communities.

Musings From Abroad

Military advisors from Russia arrive Equatorial Guinea

Published

1 day ago

November 17, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Russian military advisors are in Equatorial Guinea training indigenous soldiers.

Anonymous sources cited by Reuters during the week claim that between 100 and 200 Russian instructors are training with elite guards in charge of guarding the President and the first family.

The males had been seen in Malabo, the country’s capital, and Bata, its second city. Reports of Russian forces stationed in the nation initially appeared in August.

Oil-rich Equatorial Guinea’s President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has maintained close relations with Moscow.

Nguema travelled to Moscow in September to attend the Russian Energy Week International Forum.

Russia has strengthened military connections with African countries, sending advisors and combat soldiers to the Central African Republic, Mozambique, Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso.

Faced with an Islamist terrorist insurrection, three Sahel countries have turned to Moscow for support, expelling French and American troops.