The AA recently published its Africa policy guidelines. Roger Peltzer comments that the guidelines largely reflect the current state of the political debate on Africa. However, one would wish that the relationship with China, the largest competitor in Africa, had been addressed in more detail.

Well formulated, differentiated in their analysis and policy recommendations, the AA’s new Africa policy guidelines also set standards for the next German government.

Building on the Merkel government’s Africa policy, Annalena Baerbock believes that Germany and the EU can score points with democratic values in the increasing competition between systems, especially with the continent’s politically active youth. At the same time, cooperation with governments that do not share European values is not ruled out when it comes to climate protection or security issues.

The holistic approach of the paper, which covers issues such as the prevention of causes of war and conflict, climate protection, the promotion of civil society and the private sector, global governance and security policy as well as traditional development policy, shows that the departmental logic (e.g. BMZ versus AA) that is still widespread in Germany, including in the NGO scene, is completely outdated and no longer even remotely up to the current challenges.

The guidelines not only name the genocide of the Herero and Nama in Namibia as such for the first time by the AA, they also address the urgent issue of facilitating the granting of visas, which is an indispensable prerequisite for a partnership-based dialog on an equal footing with our African partners.

With regard to economic cooperation, the guidelines rightly point out that Germany, together with the EU (keyword Global Gateway Initiative), provides a wide range of instruments to promote private investment by German and European companies, but also by local companies in particular. The important role of the African diaspora in Germany for the development of their home countries is explicitly mentioned.

Where is there a need for discussion and further development?

The guidelines rightly call for illegal migration to be restricted and legal migration to be expanded. With the GIZ migration centers, Germany already has instruments for implementing such a policy. However, the promotion of legal migration is not without its pitfalls. It is true that there are a large number of young people in Africa with school and university qualifications who have no chance of finding employment on the local labor market that matches their education. However, the picture changes dramatically when it comes to skilled workers with 3.4 years of professional experience. There is often a shortage of skilled workers, not least due to recruitment programs such as those of the Canadian state of Quebec, which are currently drawing many hard-earned skilled workers away from private companies and state institutions in francophone Africa. Germany will therefore primarily have to take in young people with school and university degrees and train and educate them here if it does not want to encourage the brain drain. At the same time, training in Africa for the local markets must be promoted, which is also prominently addressed in the guidelines.

And then there is an elephant in the room, which is only indirectly addressed in the paper insofar as it states that Germany must face up to systemic competition. In fact, China is the main competitor when it comes to economic and political influence, but also when it comes to our values. On the other hand, despite all the criticism of individual activities, China is making a significant contribution to Africa’s economic development. No African government will therefore refrain from seeking cooperation with all available partners now and in the future, whether the EU, China, India, Turkey, Brazil, etc. It would therefore make a lot of sense for the EU and Germany to find a mode of action in Africa in relation to China that includes elements of competition and cooperation with China in equal measure. This is already happening to some extent in the negotiations on debt rescheduling agreements. But there will be no getting around Chinese solar panels and other innovative products when it comes to the electrification of rural areas in Africa. China will also continue to play a major role in infrastructure development in Africa in the future. Increased cooperation with German engineering companies is an obvious choice here. The same applies to the expansion of the pharmaceutical sector with regard to Indian companies. On this issue, the guidelines should be sharpened by a new German government. Overall, however, the AA’s Africa policy guidelines provide a very good basis for future government action.

Cover picture: NATO Foreign Ministers meeting with His Majesty the King of Jordan – December 3, 2024, Brussels; From left to right: Hakan Fidan (Foreign Minister, Turkey) with Annalena Baerbock (Foreign Minister, Germany) and Xavier Bettel (Foreign Minister, Luxembourg); URL: https://flic.kr/p/2qxYfni (Last accessed: 24.01.2025)

Autor

  • 70 years old, married, 3 children and soon 4 grandchildren. I studied economics at the University of Münster and then completed a postgraduate course at the German Institute for Development Policy (now IDOS).

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The Federal Foreign Office's new Africa policy guidelines: a thoroughly convincing strategy paper for dealing with our neighboring continent

Roger Peltzer


[wpml-string context="pb-bioinfo" name="info-1"]70 Jahre alt, verheiratet, 3 Kinder und 4 Enkelkinder. Ich habe an der Universität Münster Volkswirtschaft studiert und anschließend den postgraduierten Kurs am deutschen Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (heute IDOS) absolviert.[/wpml-string]


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