Nairobi, Kenya — Africa worked in 2023 to become a focus of global power and draw the attention of influential nations seeking to build political and economic relations with the 54 countries on the continent.
In the past 12 months, African leaders visited European Union headquarters in Brussels, as well as India, Russia, the United States, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. They also met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Africa to discuss China's Belt and Road Initiative infrastructure program, climate change financing, business and trade deals, global peace and security.
Professor Chacha Nyaigotti-Chacha, chairman of the Kenyan Commission for University Education and an expert in diplomacy and international relations, said that Africa is an important player in global affairs and that other countries want to engage with the continent.
"They want to create strategies on how they can continue assuring the African states that they are friends of the Africans and, consequently, expecting that African countries will be able to continue relating with them amicably," Nyaigotti-Chacha said. "They expect a lot of economic gains and political goodwill."
With conflicts such Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas war, political experts say international gatherings provide a means for some countries to seek Africa's support.
Paul Melly, a consulting fellow with the Africa Program at research organization Chatham House in London, said Africa can be an influential voice in venues where countries vote on political and security issues, including the United Nations.
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"There is a simple numerical fact in Africa," he said. "Depending on how you count them, you are looking at 50 votes at the U.N. That's quite an arguing power."
Some other continents have many countries in them, he said, but "one of the things that stands out for Africa is it's a continent where there is ... a culture of collective action."
"That's quite a lot of votes, and quite a lot of political leverage," Melly said.
The tone other nations take is important when connecting with African leaders, he said.
"You can have as many summits as you like, you can mobilize as many resources as you like, but ... if the tone is seen as not sufficiently respectful or [if they seem] unwilling to sit and listen to what African leaders have to say, you can sometimes find it doesn't work," Melly said.
Even as African nations reach out to the rest of the world, they will need to engage more among themselves to present a stronger image, Nyaigotti-Chacha said.
"They will remember the year 2023 as the year they have made so many interactions with other international and foreign countries," he said. "They will remember that and learn very fast to network within themselves in order ... to have one voice."
