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AFRICA

Will Beijing boycott Macron's Africa Summit?

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“Debt diplomacy”

AFRICA

Debt diplomacy

Because the fight to contain it has involved the use of public funds, the Covid-19 pandemic has led to an explosion of debt throughout Africa, forcing countries to seek a moratorium from the G20 and bring in consultants to help them negotiate with their sovereign, private sector and institutional creditors. In the West, the growth of African countries' debt has led to fierce competition between private and public sector creditors to obtain repayment of their debts. China is also involved but has shown little inclination so far to reschedule African countries' debts. [...]

Emmanuel Macron and Xi Jinping. © Nicolas Asfouri/Pool/EPA/Newscom/MaxPPP

The French president has been trying to get China on board his summit of African economies for months but Beijing has yet to RSVP his invitation. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken should represent Joe Biden at the 18 May event, to which several African heads of state have been hastily invited at the last minute. [...] (467 words)

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Diplomacy

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Alassane Ouattara
Alpha Condé
Antony Blinken
Chinese Communist Party
Cyril Ramaphosa
Denis Sassou Nguesso
Faure Gnassingbé
Félix Tshisekedi
Filipe Nyusi
G20
International Monetary Fund
João Lourenço
Joe Biden
Macky Sall
Mohamed Bazoum
Muhammadu Buhari
OECD
Paris Club
Paul Biya
Paul Kagame
Uhuru Kenyatta
Wang Yi
Xi Jinping

Ouattara heads to South Africa to strengthen ties with Ramaphosa

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Ivory Coast's President Alassane Ouattara (right) and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa (left), in Abidjan, on 2 December, 2021. © Legnan Koula/EPA/MaxPPP

AFRICA EUROPE Politics 10/06/2022

Groupe Agir Europe-Afrique puts positive spin on African elections

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CENTRAL AFRICA Business 03/06/2022

Business airlines hit jackpot with AU summit in Malabo

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The African Union summit in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. © Twitter/@_AfricanUnion

KENYA Infrastructures Business 01/06/2022

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AFRICA Diplomacy 25/05/2022

Heads of state get ready to attend Malabo's African Union summit

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SENEGAL Business 25/03/2022

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WEST AFRICA Finance Mining 25/01/2022

OECD prepares to enlist banks in fight against gold fraud

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CAPE VERDE PORTUGAL Finance Diplomacy 20/12/2021

Lisbon gives Praia another break over debt to maintain influence

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ZIMBABWE Diplomacy 14/12/2021

Beijing makes the most of Harare's isolation

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Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping during the African leader's first visit to China on April 3, 2018. © Parker Song/POOL/EPA/Newscom/MaxPPP

On a tour of West Africa, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa has spoken out against a travel ban on his country following the detection there of the Omicron variant of the virus that causes Covid-19. © Twitter @CyrilRamaphosa

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SOUTH AFRICA Diplomacy 07/12/2021

Ramaphosa's multi-pronged response to Omicron isolation

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AFRICA Diplomacy 02/11/2021

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NETHERLANDS AFRICA 28/10/2021

Prince Jaime de Bourbon-Parme adds lustre to China's image Free

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Dutch Prince Jaime de Bourbon de Parme. © Twitter/@UNCTAD

WEST AFRICA Defence Diplomacy 15/10/2021

Erdogan tours Gulf of Guinea with his military procurement team Free

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Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan. © Reuters

MOROCCO Diplomacy 03/09/2021

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Angela Merkel with several African heads of state at the third edition of the Compact with Africa meeting in Berlin on 27 August. © Michèle Tantussi/Reuters

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RUSSIA MOZAMBIQUE Mining Business Diplomacy 19/07/2021

Russian miners play a part in Moscow's humanitarian diplomacy

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Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Foreign Minister of India. © Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa/picture-alliance/Newscom/MaxPPP

CONGO Diplomacy 22/06/2021

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Prime minister of Congo, Anatole Collinet Makosso. © Twitter/@PrimatureCongoB

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Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum. © Présidence du Niger/Twitter

IVORY COAST FRANCE Diplomacy 20/05/2021

Ouattara's evening at the Elysée

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French President Emmanuel Macron (R) greets Ivory Coast's President Alassane Ouattara as he arrives at the Grand Palais Ephemere for the Financing of African Economies Summit in Paris, 18 May 2021. © Ian Langsdon/Pool/EPA/Newscom/MaxPPP

CENTRAL AFRICA Diplomacy 20/05/2021

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DRC's President Felix Tshisekedi meets with visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Kinshasa. © Gao Junya / Xinhua News Agency/Newscom/MaxPPP

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DRC Infrastructures Business 05/05/2021

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CAMEROON Diplomacy 08/04/2021

Biya treads gingerly with Washington

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Cameroonian President Paul Biya. © Présidence de la République du Cameroun

On December 30, 2020, French President Emmanuel Macron took part in a videoconference bringing together his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping and European representatives. © Sébastien Nogier/ Pool/EFE/Newscom/MaxPPP

Spotlight

AFRICA CHINA Politics 19/01/2021

Macron and Biden want to force China to play ball on African debt

Following the explosion in African countries' public debt caused by Covid, the European Union and the United States want to force China to take part in the collective rescheduling process organised by the G20 and the Paris Club. [...]

IVORY COAST Politics 12/11/2020

Embalo and Sassou discreetly manoeuvre against Ouattara in Oyo

A fierce enemy of Alassane Ouattara, the Guinea-Bissau president is seeking to rally his elder Congolese counterpart to his cause and exert an influence over the post-electoral crisis in Ivory Coast. [...]

The Congolese president Denis Sassou Nguesso is seeking to involve himself in various other political crises on the continent. © EVGENIA NOVOZHENINA/POOL / POOL/EPA/Newscom/MaxPPP

On our other sites

Intelligence Online 28/06/2022

Xi to change Hong Kong's name to South Shenzhen under transformation plan

The Chinese president is set to go Hong Kong to take part in celebrations for the 25th anniversary of the handover of the territory to China with an already established plan for the future of the former British enclave. [...]

A screen displays footage video of Chinese President of the People's Republic Chinese president, Xi Jinping, in Hong Kong on July 1, 2021. It was celebrating its 24th anniversary of the handover to China. © Miguel Candela/SOPA Images/Sipa USA/Alamy Live News

Intelligence Online 17/06/2022

China Foreign Affairs University canteen provides fine fare for security chiefs and diplomats

Throughout the world, spies have their meeting places, suited to discreet conversations and impromptu meetings. This week, Intelligence Online explores the canteen at the China Foreign Affairs University in Beijing. In this spartan but refined setting at the heart of the prestigious university campus, senior Chinese and foreign officials meet to strengthen ties and discuss China's plans for the New Silk Road. [...]

The China Foreign Affairs University. © China Foreign Affairs University

Intelligence Online 31/05/2022

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Alassane Ouattara
Alpha Condé
Antony Blinken
Chinese Communist Party
Cyril Ramaphosa
Denis Sassou Nguesso
Faure Gnassingbé
Félix Tshisekedi
Filipe Nyusi
G20
International Monetary Fund
João Lourenço
Joe Biden
Macky Sall
Mohamed Bazoum
Muhammadu Buhari
OECD
Paris Club
Paul Biya
Paul Kagame
Uhuru Kenyatta
Wang Yi
Xi Jinping

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Will Beijing boycott Macron's Africa Summit?

Debt diplomacy

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Receive free prompts for these topics

Ouattara heads to South Africa to strengthen ties with Ramaphosa

Groupe Agir Europe-Afrique puts positive spin on African elections

Business airlines hit jackpot with AU summit in Malabo

Britain's Atkins unveils plans for Nairobi train station mega-project

Middleman Chafi comes to Qatar's rescue in the Chadian 'pre-dialogue' process in Doha

Heads of state get ready to attend Malabo's African Union summit

The New Guard: Kenya, South Africa, Congo, Guinea, Morocco

Gérard Askinazi's J5 Co, low-key organiser for Macky Sall's Water Forum

OECD prepares to enlist banks in fight against gold fraud

Lisbon gives Praia another break over debt to maintain influence

Beijing makes the most of Harare's isolation

Ramaphosa's multi-pronged response to Omicron isolation

Several African heads of state to attend Paris Peace Forum

Prince Jaime de Bourbon-Parme adds lustre to China's image Free

Erdogan tours Gulf of Guinea with his military procurement team Free

Mohammed VI snubs Merkel's latest Compact with Africa

West Africa on lobbying spree to recover developed countries' share of IMF SDRs

Former Iraqi general Georges Sada looks to Lourenço, Biya and Tshisekedi for oil contracts

Ethiopia to test new China-G20 compromise on debt

Russian miners play a part in Moscow's humanitarian diplomacy

Forget security - Indian minister's Nairobi trip was all about business

New PM Anatole Collinet Makosso might visit Paris on first foreign trip

LSE Consulting negotiates for EU with Zimbabwe and Indian Ocean

Bazoum eyeing consultants to help renegotiate sovereign debt

Ouattara's evening at the Elysée

CEMAC leaders brood over exclusion from Paris summit

Tshisekedi seeks to renegotiate Kabila-era deals with China

Under IMF's watchful eye, Conakry cracks down on money-laundering

Biya treads gingerly with Washington

Macron and Biden want to force China to play ball on African debt

Embalo and Sassou discreetly manoeuvre against Ouattara in Oyo

Xi to change Hong Kong's name to South Shenzhen under transformation plan

China Foreign Affairs University canteen provides fine fare for security chiefs and diplomats

Beijing ramps up military and security-driven plans in the Pacific

Communist party's gene giant MGI sets foot in Europe

Xi Jinping and Zelensky set to speak

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