The recently held 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing under the theme Joining Hands to Advance Modernisation and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future unequivocally demonstrated that FOCAC remains the most important flagship collaborative platform between China and Africa and continues to deliver wide-ranging, tangible economic and social results.  The summit unanimously adopted the Beijing Declaration on Jointly Building an All-Weather China-Africa Community with a Shared Future for the New Era and…

The price of coal soared in 2023, reaching almost $300 a ton in parts of Europe. And it fell back just as fast to half that, and less in some regions. There’s always a spike in demand over the northern winter when homes and factories need heating, but last year was special. You see, Russia accounts for around 17% of the world’s coal, and sanctions panicked the market, until it became clear that Moscow is selling as much coal as…

It has been my privilege to witness a huge transformation and pivot as well as an enormous development of China from a close distance during my years living in China. I will say that if ever there was a time when African countries needed to be modernised, it is now.   Themed Joining Hands to Advance Modernisation and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future, the goal of the 2024 Summit on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) held in Beijing is…

The 13th Meeting of the China-Africa Think Tanks Forum held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on 8 March jointly released the Africa-China Dar es Salaam Consensus aimed at deepening global development cooperation. The consensus contains significant guidance and principles for human development.   The consensus emphasises the critical importance of prioritising development and adopting a collaborative approach to achieving it. It asserts that development goals must be at the forefront of all decision-making processes and actions. By doing so, we can…

As Chinese President Xi Jinping and a host of other leaders gather in Kazan, Russia, for the 16th BRICS summit, the world is once again turning its limelight on the burgeoning international mechanism for how it will push forward self-development and respond to global woes. A steadfast champion of BRICS cooperation, Xi once compared its five members back then to the five fingers of one hand: They are short and long if extended, but form a powerful fist if clenched…

The 2024 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) marks another grand gathering of the China-Africa family, following the previous summits in 2006 in Beijing, 2015 in Johannesburg, and 2018 in Beijing. It also stood out as the largest diplomatic event China has hosted in recent years, with the highest number of attending foreign leaders.  In his keynote address at the opening ceremony, Chinese President Xi Jinping pointed out that “China and Africa account for one-third of the…

The Fifth Review Conference of the Anti-personnel Mine Ban Convention (Ottawa Convention) will take place in Siem Reap Angkor, Cambodia, on November 25, 2024. This conference comes at a crucial time, as countries like Angola and Cambodia continue to suffer from the devastating consequences of landmines. Despite decades of demining efforts, both nations remain among the most heavily mined countries in the world, and the urgency for international support is as strong as ever. The Ottawa Convention, signed in 1997,…

There has been a lot of controversy surrounding a prophetic statement made by Nigerian pastor Apostle Joshua Selman regarding the raising and training of new Indigenous Apostolic voices, particularly in South Africa. The apostle mentioned that God will handpick men, and many of those will be brought to Nigeria for training. This statement stirred up a significant amount of backlash from some members of the South African Christian community, with objections raised about the prophecy not aligning with their expectations…

Early in the morning of September 17th, two simultaneous attacks shook Bamako, Mali’s capital. Terrorists targeted the gendarmerie school in Faladié and the military camp in Sénou, near the international airport. These assaults, claimed by the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), a group affiliated with Al-Qaeda, have left the city in chaos. Explosions, gunfire, and a thick cloud of smoke over the airport have raised concerns about the country’s security. According to the Malian Armed Forces…

Modernization in this briskly changing digital environment finds South African government entities at a juncture where the need to capitalize on technological innovation as a stepping stone toward progress and improved public service delivery is recognized. The infusion of advanced technologies is not an extravagance but an indispensable obligation, ensuring radical changes in efficiency, transparency, and access at all levels of government. The proposed use of AI in parliamentary procedures is perhaps the landmark development on the journey of technological…