The relationship between Africa and the UAE is often analyzed based on investments, trade activities, and ports. However, there is another aspect in which it may be seen: prosperity from the point of view of Africa.
In his opinion article, Dr. Yonas Adaye Adeto, Director of the Institute for Peace and Security Studies at Addis Ababa University, examines the relationship between the UAE and Africa using Ubuntu philosophy.
It is not just about how much money the UAE invests in Africa.
Trade is a Two-Way Street
Not only is the UAE involved in developing infrastructure in Africa, but it is also engaged in large-scale purchase of African goods and has businesses and logistics systems that facilitate such trade.
It is thus not simply an extraction economy where Africa provides raw materials and adds no value to them.
Value addition should be considered the greater option – where more African resources are processed in Africa, creating jobs in production and enabling African economies to benefit from a greater part of the value chain.
Ports and Corridors are Important
For the Horn of Africa, the role of ports is crucial.
Landlocked nations such as Ethiopia need effective corridors linking them to the coast. Thus, UAE involvement in the development of ports, roads, and logistics can impact far beyond transport issues.
Reduced transportation costs and reliable transport routes can help farmers gain access to markets, businesses receive the goods necessary for production, and consumers save from inefficiencies in the supply chain.
For the Horn of Africa, access to markets is access to opportunities.
Job Connects Africa to the UAE
The relationship between the UAE and Africa also comes right into homes through jobs and remittances.
Remittances made by African workers in the Gulf can pay for their education, homes, health care, and small businesses.
This is why labor relations are as crucial as any financial transactions. The partnership must provide opportunity and protection for workers, and skills that may be used one day to boost African economies.
Education, Water and Health Care Matter Too
The investment is not only about billions of dollars.
Schools, hospitals, water supply systems, and other community projects are also an important part of the UAE-African partnership.
Such projects cannot replace development, but can change people’s lives and show how effective investments are outside major commercial centers.
Here the Ubuntu idea finds its true place.
The Importance of a Safer Red Sea to Africa
The Red Sea and Gulf of Aden play an important part in trade in Africa.
This makes maritime security training and maritime cooperation directly economical since it ensures safety for fishers, shipping, and their supplies, thus lessening the dangers to the economies that depend upon such trade. Security is tightly linked with economic development in the Horn of Africa.
Test for Gulf Capital through the Ubuntu Principle
Another example of Kenya’s collaboration with the United Arab Emirates in attracting investments and forex is another indication of the reason why the government continues to attract Gulf capital.
However, Africa should also be able to negotiate deals that make their industry grow and not depend more and more.
Here comes the test in the form of the Ubuntu principle – will the partnership benefit both sides?
In this regard, the expanding presence of the UAE in Africa should not be evaluated only by the amount of investments, but also by their contribution to employment generation, increasing trade volumes, improving infrastructure, protecting the interests of workers and promoting value addition.
Investment alone does not constitute development, but when the investments contribute to connecting African producers to markets, improving infrastructure and creating opportunities for the community, then it becomes much more.
Herald can be used as a counterpart to Dr. Adeto’s article from the local point of view.
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