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Africa-China Dialogue Series

African Countries’ Engagement with China and other development partners to achieve the SDGs and Agenda 2063

Wednesday, 28 September, 2016, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Sheraton Addis Hotel Lalibela Ballroom

Concept Note

Rationale The African continent has demonstrated impressive growth rates over the last ten years. Africa is, thus, increasingly referred to as the “rising star” or the “emerging continent”. Indeed six of the world’s 10 fastest growing countries in the 2000s were in Sub-Saharan Africa. These are Angola at 11.1 % a year, Nigeria 8.9 %, Ethiopia 8.4 %, Chad 7.9 %, Mozambique 7.9 %, and Rwanda 7.6 %. There are also others that were above or near 7% growth needed to double their economies in 10 years. This is in sharp contrast to fifteen years ago when the front cover of the Economist magazine asserted Africa as “the hopeless continent.” Notwithstanding the aforementioned economic growth in Africa, challenges abound to economic development in Africa in the 21st century. Even though Africa has registered economic growth over the years, many countries are unable to sustain high levels of long-term economic growth to reach the 7% threshold required to significantly improve incomes on the continent. The growth in the continent is also seen to be inequitable and skewed against the poor. There are also challenges to ensure improvements in economic and social conditions for marginalized groups such as the rural folks, women, the youth, and the disabled. In comparison with other regions, Africa lags behind in all indicators of social development. Currently, half of the population of Africa - 48% - is living in absolute poverty, and if the trend is not reversed, the number of people that are living in absolute poverty will increase significantly in the future. There has also been insufficient progress towards meeting international food security targets: at present more than one in four people remain undernourished

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in Africa – the highest prevalence of any region in the world.1 Many African economies have been transforming, albeit not at a pace fast enough to address unemployment, especially among the youth. For instance, an extra 450 million jobs must be created in the next two decades in the continent in order to match expansion in the number of working-age people in the region.2 The challenge, thus, remains to ensure that the sources of growth are diversified through industrialization, value-addition, and structural transformation. Moreover, Africa is vulnerable to external shocks such as commodity price shocks, tighter global monetary policies, and slowdown in the global economy and domestic risks such as extreme weather-related shocks. Moreover, the continent except few countries did not meet most of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. The progress towards achieving MDGs for nearly every goal has been off track and in some areas, where there was progress, it was too slow to achieve the MDGs. In the recently adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDG),3 the international community has taken on an even more ambitious agenda to address the unfinished work of the previous MDGs and more. But the questions still remain on what must Africa do to achieve the ambitious development goals (SDGs) and the AU Agenda 2063,4 in spite of the inability to achieve the MDGs in the past 15 years? Oxfam works across the world to reduce poverty, hunger and inequality. This emanates from the determination to help achieve change by unlocking the great potential in the world to overcome new threats and achieve sustainable human development. For Africa to achieve these ambitious goals of the SDGs and Agenda 2063, significant public investment and development assistance is required. This can be Africa’s greatest opportunity of transformation from growth to prosperity by ending extreme poverty in all its forms everywhere by 2030, and achieve a prosperous Africa based on inclusive growth and sustainable development in 2063. As the SDGs were just adopted recently, which has many interfaces with Agenda 2063; the Africa-China Dialogue Platform (ACDP) believes this is the best time to stimulate dialogue on this issue. This, in particular, is true as the continent witnessed a growing development partnership not only with traditional partners but also with emerging economies such as China, Brazil, Russia, Turkey, and India. More specifically, the relationship is growing in three important ways namely, trade, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), and development assistance. For instance, the trade volume between Africa and China was $1 billion in 1980, $ 11 billion in 2000

1 See FAO, IFAD, WFP. 2014. The State of Food insecurity in the world: Strengthening the Enabling

Environment for Food Security and Nutrition. Rome: FAO

2 See Bax, Pauline. 2015. “From Burkina Faso to Burundi, Jobless Young Africans Rise against

Corrupt and Failed Rule.” Available at http://fahamu.org/1865 p.1

3 Sustainable Development Goals or Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDGs) are goals world

leaders adopted at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit on 25 September 2015. For

more information see http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/# 4 Details on Agenda 2063 please do see http://agenda2063.au.int/en/documents/agenda-2063-africa-

we-want-popular-version-final-edition

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and surged to $ 225 billion in 2013, which is twice that of Africa-US trade. At the moment China is the largest trading partner to the continent for five successive years. Chinese FDI in Africa has also increased over time. An official China White Paper indicated that cumulative Chinese FDI in Africa at the end of 2012 totalled $22 billion. The 6th Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in December 2015, held in Johannesburg, South Africa, revealed that China’s investment in Africa increased to $ 32.35 billion in 2015 with over 3000 Chinese companies operating across the continent. China has been providing development assistance in different sectors of the African economy. The most notable ones are infrastructure, telecommunication, energy generation and supply, manufacturing, and industry as well as the agriculture sectors. In this regard, China provided $ 14.4 billion of development assistance, half of which was provided to 51 African countries through more than 2,500 development projects, with a total of approximately $ 7.5 billion. Moreover, in the recent FOCAC, noted above, China pledged to give $60 billion to a development fund (in various kind of support) to African countries i.e., loans, preferential loans, export credits, concessional foreign aid loans ($35 billion); China-Africa Development Fund, (CAD Fund for equity investment, $5 billion); small and medium enterprise (SME) credit line ($5 billion); grants and zero interest loans ($5 billion); and a new China-Africa Cooperation Fund with $10 billion to African countries. The trends in the past six FOCAC since 2000 reflect huge financial commitments from China to Africa. Furthermore, China provided $ 3 billion to South-South Climate Change Cooperation Fund and an additional $ 2 billion to aid developing countries to implement Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Africa-China Dialogue Platform (ACDP) aims to encourage and facilitate constructive engagement and dialogue of citizens, policy makers, researchers and other stakeholders on the growing partnership between Africa and China. The Platform seeks to generate knowledge in order to influence policies and practices that relate to the Africa–China partnership. The Platform is involved specific streams of work including policy research, knowledge generation, management, and dissemination. The short-term focus areas of the platform are agricultural cooperation, climate change, sustainable development goals (SDGs) and peace and security. The Platform while looking at the continent in general will have a focus on countries in the five sub-regions that have the most Chinese involvement.

It is in this context that Oxfam’s Africa-China Dialogue Platform will hold a multi-stakeholder dialogue under the theme "African countries’ engagement of China and other development partners to achieve the SDGs and Agenda 2063". The forum will focus on Africa’s strategy to utilize the opportunities arising from the development partnership with China and other emerging powers; in particular from development financing for climate change, south-south cooperation, FDI etc. to achieve sustainable development under the framework of the SDGs and Agenda 2063.

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The Specific objectives are to:

Critically examine the reasons why China and other partners (traditional and emerging) powers are engaging in Africa.

Analyze the development assistance and investments required for African countries to achieve the SDGs and Agenda 2063, given the lessons learnt from the experience of the MDGs.

Identify the opportunities and challenges for Africa in engaging with China and other development partners to achieve the SDGs and Agenda 2063.

Proffer policy recommendations for African governments, and the AU, to leverage on development partnerships with China and other partners for the achievement of the SDGs and Agenda 2063.

Expected Outcomes of the Dialogue:

Participants have an informed understanding of the nature of development cooperation between Africa and China, and with other partners.

There is increased awareness of the requirements for Africa to achieve the SDGs and Agenda 2063, and the role of development cooperation with China and other partners in meeting these targets.

The dialogue will identify specific policy recommendations for African governments, the African Union and civil society to leverage on the development cooperation with China other partners in order to achieve the SDGs and Agenda 2063.

Approach of the Dialogue

The policy dialogue will allow free exchange of ideas and information. The Chatham House Rule will be adopted i.e., participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), or that of any other participant, may be revealed. The essence is to free the speakers from institutional encumbrances and censorship, and allow frank and honest discussion to take place.

The multi-stakeholder dialogue is expected to benefit the general public, and the policy and academia. It seeks to increase public awareness, shape and influence public discussion, provide feedback mechanisms on different policy initiatives, best practices, lessons learnt, challenges, and ultimately to improve the understanding of policy makers on the strategic policy choices that they have on specific elements of the Africa-China development partnership.

Participants

Approximately 100 participants with interest in the Africa-China development partnership will be invited. This includes policy makers, diplomats, think tanks, civil society, the media UN agencies and other development partners.

Date and venue

The forum will take place at Sheraton Addis Hotel on 28 September 2016, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

See Agenda below.

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Africa-China Dialogue Series

On the Theme “African Countries’ Engagement with China and Other Partners to Achieve SDGs and Agenda 2063

Wednesday, 28 September, 2016, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Sheraton Addis Hotel Lalibela Ballroom

Agenda

Dialogue Forum I (8:300-17:30)

08:30 – 09:00 Registration of Participants

Opening Ceremony

09:00 – 10:00

Welcome and Introduction to the Programme: Gedion Jalata, Programme Manager, Africa-China Dialogue Platform, Oxfam International

Chair

Mr. Désiré Assogbavi, Resident Representative and Head of office, Oxfam International Liaison Office to the African Union Speakers H.E. Ambassador Kuang Weilin, Head of Mission, China Permanent Mission to the African Union H.E. Ambassador Susan Sikaneta, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and Permanent Representative of Zambia to the AU & ECA

10:00 – 10:15 Coffee Break

Session I

10:15 – 11:30

Unpacking African Countries’ Engagement with Traditional and Emerging Partners to Achieve MDGs: Lessons for SDGs and Agenda 2063

Moderator: Mr. Gedion Jalata, Programme Manager, Africa-China

Dialogue Platform, Oxfam International

3 speakers- (15 mins each)

Dr. Kassim M. Khamis, Political Analyst-Agenda 2063

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Technical Team, Strategic Planning, African Union Commission

Ms. Alessandra Casazza, SDG Programme Advisor, Regional Service Centre for Africa, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

Mr. Seung Jin, Economic Affairs Officer, Development Planning Section, Macroeconomic Policy Division, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA)

Q & A (30 mins)

Session II

11:30 – 13:00

Africa - China partnership to Achieve SGDs and Agenda 2063: Opportunities and Challenges

Moderator: Dr. Vanessa Ushie, Pan Africa Policy Advisor on Extractive Industries, Oxfam International

3 speakers- (15 mins each)

Prof. Chris Alden, Research Associate, South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA)

Prof. Qiyuan XU, Head of Economic Development Department, The Institute of World Economics and Politics, Peeking University

Q & A (30 mins)

13:00 -14:00 Lunch

Session III

14:00 – 15:30

African Countries’ partnership with Traditional and Emerging countries to Achieve SDGs and Agenda 2063: Opportunities and Challenges

Moderator: Bob Wekesa, Post-Doctoral Fellow, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, Steering Committee, Chinese in Africa, Africans in China Research Network

3 speakers-Tentative (15 mins each)

H.E. Ambassador Anurag Siravastava, Indian Ambassador to Ethiopia

Ms. Anna Burylo, Counsellor, Head of Cooperation, Delegation of the European Union to the African Union

Ms. Sanusha Naidu, a Foreign Policy Analyst and Africa’s Relations with Emerging Powers from the South (BRICS and IBSA)

Q & A (30 mins)

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15:30 – 15:45 Coffee Break

Session IV

15:45-17:30

Panel Discussion on African Countries' partnership with China and Other countries to Achieve SDGs and Agenda 2063: Way Forward

Moderator: Ms. Sanusha Naidu, A Foreign Policy Analyst and Africa’s Relations with Emerging Powers from the South (BRICS and IBSA)

3 speakers-Tentative (15 mins each)

Dr. Bob Wekesa, Post-Doctoral Fellow, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, Steering Committee, Chinese in Africa, Africans in China Research Network

Dr. Alebel Bayru, Researcher, Ethiopian Development Research Institute (EDRI)

Prof. Ye Yu, Senior Fellow, Institute for World Economy Studies, Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (SIIS).

Prof. K. Mathews, Professor of International Relations, Addis Ababa University

Q & A (60 mins)

17:30 End of Programme