Inanefforttomoveforwarditsintegrationagendaandachieveitsvisionof鈥渁nintegrated,prosperousandpeacefulAfrica,drivenbyitsowncitizensandrepresentingadynamicforceintheglobalarena,鈥漷heAfricanUnion(AU),throughitsCommission,hasenteredintostrategicpartnershipswithcountriesandregionsoftheoutsideworld.TheseincludetheAfrica-EUandAfrica-SouthAmericapartnerships(continenttocontinentpartnerships),andtheAfrica-China(FOCAC),AfricaKorea,Africa-IndiaandAfrica-Turkeypartnerships(continenttocountrypartnerships).
AfricahasalsoenteredintoastrategicpartnershipwiththeArabworld,whichdatesbackto1977.TheAfrica-Arabpartnership,whichisAfrica鈥檚oldestpartnership,isasolidarity-typepartnership,whichfocusesmoreonpolitical,culturalandsocialissues.Thepartnershipisunique,inthatitembracesninecountriesthatbelongtoboththeAUandtheArabLeague.
Inaddition,theAUisaco-organizeroftheTokyoInternationalConferenceonAfricanDevelopment(TICAD),initiatedbythegovernmentofJapanin1993topromoteahigh-levelpolicydialoguebetweenAfricanleadersanddevelopmentpartners.Inthiscapacity,theAUundertakesnegotiationswiththegovernmentofJapanandotherorganizersonbehalfofitsmemberstates.
AllofAfrica鈥檚strategicpartnershipsareguidedandmonitoredbyperiodichigh-leveljointpolicyorganmeetings,suchasjointsummits,andministerialandseniorofficialsmeetings,whicharealternatelyhostedbyAfricaandthepartners.Theperiodicityofmeetingsofthejointsummitsrangesfromthreetofiveyears.Attheendofeachjointsummit,adeclarationandplanofactionareadopted,summarizingthepoliticalcommitmentsofthetwosidesandmappingoutfurtherdirectionofthepartnership.
Africa鈥檚strategicpartnershipsaimatmobilizingthenecessaryfinancialandtechnicalsupportfortheimplementationofAfrica鈥檚regionalandcontinentalprograms,includingtherecentlyadoptedAgenda2063anditsFirst10-YearImplementationPlan.This,however,isbynomeansaffectingengagementsinbilateralrelationsbetweenindividualAfricancountriesandtheAUstrategicpartners.Instead,thecontinentalengagementwiththepartnerswouldassistindividualAfricancountriestofurtherbuildtheirbilateralrelationsand,attractandprovidemoreinvestmentandtradeopportunitiesaswellasotherdevelopmentprograms.
Combatingterrorism,drugtrafficking,andpiracy,andprotectionofculturalheritages,aswellascooperationonmigrationanddiasporaissuesarealsoamongthevariousareasofcon-cernthatAfricabringstoanddiscusseswiththestrategicpartners,withtheaimoffindingjointsolutions.
AstherequestfromcountriesandorganizationsforstrategicpartnershipswithAfricaiscontinuouslyontherise,duetothefactthatAfricahasbecomethemostreliableandattractivedestinationforglobalinvestment,areviewofthepartnershipprocessisrequiredtoassistincurbingthecurrentpractice,wherepartnershipsareenteredintoonthebasisofpoliticaldecisions,andamoredemand-driventypeofapproachwillbeencouraged,whichwillbebasedontheneedsofAfricaandthecomparativeadvantagesofthepartners.
BasedonthedirectivesoftheAUpolicyorgans,theAUCommissionincollaborationwiththeSub-CommitteeonMultilateralCooperationofthePermanentRepresentativesCommitteeoftheAUisintheprocessoffinalizinganevaluationofthevariouspartnerships,inlightoftheirrelevanceandeffectivenessandvalueaddition.
Theevaluation,whichhadadeadlineofmid-2016,alsoidentifiedthespecificareasofcooperationforeachpartnership,aligningthemwiththeFirst10-YearImplementationPlanofAgenda2063.CA
(ThisisaregularcommentarycolumnbytheAUonvarioustopicalissues.TheviewsexpressedarethoseoftheAU)