Photo: Ambassador Saeed Alhameli of the United Arab Emirates in South Africa
Photo: (L-R)Ambassador Saeed Alhameli of the United Arab Emirates in South Africa and Hon. Chief Fortune Charumbira, President of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP)
“As a friend of Africa and an observer member of the African Union; the United Arab Emirates celebrates and acknowledges the successes of the African Union,” Ambassador Saeed Alhameli said”
Ambassador Mahash Alhameli was speaking during his speech at United Arab Emirates Embassy in Pretoria on Thursday at the Africa Day event.
President of the Pan African Parliament Chief Fortune Charumbira was the guest of honour in his remarks he said Africa Day commemorates the establishment of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) 60 years ago.
Africa Day also seeks to promote the African Agenda and strengthen the African Union institutions and policies towards the realisation of the continent.
This year’s Africa Month programme was celebrated under the theme: “Deepening the AU Vision for Unity for Africa through Prosperity, Peace and Modernity for a Better Africa and a Better World.”
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has long-standing ties with African countries, its implementation of Africa policy dates back over 20 years ago
Over the past decade, the UAE has emerged as one of the largest investors into Africa among the GCC states
The interests of the GCC countries in cooperation with Africa have historically been shaped by their relatively one-sided and short-term economic goals. But propelled by the COVID-19 pandemic, food supply issues and the changing regional geopolitics in recent years, the dynamics have been shifting toward deeper, longer-term—and mutually beneficial—commitments between the Gulf States and the African continent.
Currently, all GCC States, barring Saudi Arabia, have signed and ratified bilateral investment treaties—BITs—with African countries, strengthening economic ties while pursuing diversification strategies beyond traditional sectors and addressing current critical issues, such as food security.
Over the past decade, the UAE has emerged as one of the largest investors into Africa among the GCC states, and is the fourth-largest investor globally into Africa—after China, Europe and the United States. In 2018 alone, the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development also financed more than 66 projects in 28 African countries, valued at US$16.6 billion. Between January 2016 and July 2021, the UAE invested US$1.2 billion into sub-Saharan Africa, a staggering 88 percent of the GCC total during that period.
Between January 2016 and July 2021 alone, the UAE invested approximately $1.2 billion into sub-Saharan Africa, and with an agenda to increase these investments multi-fold, the UAE is set to play an increasingly important role in unlocking resource monetization and development in Africa.
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