The G20 and Africa

Africa and the German G20 presidency

The German government has identified deeper cooperation with Africa as one of the top priorities for its G20 presidency. Against this background, the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) and the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW), as the coordinators of the T20 process in 2016/17, together with the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), are hosting the T20 Africa Conference: Building alliances for sustainable development on 1-3 February in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Africa’s Path for Industrialization

Image: garment factory All low-income countries have the potential for dynamic economic growth. We know this because we have seen it happen repeatedly: a poor, agrarian economy transforms itself into a middle- or even high-income urban economy in one or two generations. The key is to capture the window of opportunity for industrialization arising from the relocation of light manufacturing from higher-income countries. That was true in the past and remains true for Africa today.

Fight Against Capital Flight: A Global Agenda for Achieving Sustainable Development in Africa

Image: Money Suitcase

Capital flight perpetuates Africa’s dependence

Traditionally strategies aimed at accelerating economic development in Africa have focused on strengthening domestic resource mobilization and attracting more external capital to fill the large financing gaps faced by the continent. Much less attention has been paid to the illicit export of Africa’s capital – capital flight. This approach has perpetuated Africa’s dependence on external financing while ‘normalizing’ the plunder of Africa’s wealth through unfair trade and illicit financial flows.

Germany’s G20 Presidency and the Africa compact: what now for the G20-Africa partnership?

Image: Nairobi Uhuru Park

Africa agenda on existing platforms

Germany’s assumption of the G20 presidency kicked off on 1 December 2016 with a concerted presentation of its priorities, as the multilateral economic and financial forum looks towards its Hamburg Summit of July 2017. Of note among these priorities is the Compact with Africa through which Germany seeks to intensify partnerships with Africa