Africa Set To Reap Rewards from the East-West Expansionism Drive

By Prince Kurupati

The East led by China and the West led by the European Union (EU) are currently embroiled in a massive global domination drive. Both the East and the West are looking to expand their influence on the globe and in doing so, garner the support of many nations. The two parties have each rolled out initiatives meant to achieve this objective. The East is guided by China’s Belt and Road Initiative while the West is guided by the EU’s Global Gateway Initiative.

For Africa, the nature of both the Belt and Road Initiative as well as the Global Gateway Initiative means that it is set to reap some ‘free’ rewards. Many African nations have already benefitted from China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

Davis Ankunga Rwangoga a doctoral scholar in Diplomacy and International Affairs says "The Chinese-sponsored Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is an ambitious strategic program aimed at the development of infrastructure platforms connecting China with the rest of the world... In Africa, the Belt and Road Initiative has been manifested through the construction of several infrastructural projects ranging from railways, roads, ports, airports, and pipelines. China’s commercial banks have funded several infrastructural projects in Africa, such as the gas pipeline and railways in Nigeria, roads, and hydroelectric power projects in Uganda, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, and many other countries."

Rwangoga went further stating that " In Kenya, the Belt and Road Initiative has helped establish a high-speed railway connecting the East African port of Mombasa and Nairobi. In fact, this is the first high-speed railway ever constructed on the African continent."

Moving over to the EU's Global Gateway Initiative, Namibia is set to be the first country to benefit immensely from the Initiative. As reported by Alexis Akwagyiram writing for Semafor Africa, Namibia has “agreed to a partnership with the bloc to develop its renewable hydrogen capacity, backed by 1 billion euros ($1 billion) in EU investments. The deal is part of the EU’s Global Gateway Initiative, a plan to ‘mobilise’ 300 billion euros ($322 billion) in public and private investments to develop projects focused on green energy, transport infrastructure and digital economies in various parts of the world”.

The news about the EU-Namibia hydrogen deal was announced at the October EU Summit in Brussels. Government officials, policymakers and leaders of financial institutions at the Summit expressed confidence that the deal will bring about much-needed infrastructural development to Namibia while at the same time helping the EU to exert its influence on the global stage.

As part of the hydrogen deal, Namibia will see its ports including Walvis Bay and the Maputo Corridor upgraded to world-class standards. Speaking at the first-ever EU-Namibia Business Forum held on the sidelines of the October EU Summit, the European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen thanked the Namibian President Hage Geingob for accepting the deal and expressed his commitment to making it a success.

By upgrading the ports of entry, Urpilainen said Namibia’s hydrogen projects will expand and succeed as the “critical raw materials industry requires good transport connectivity. Upgrading the ports of Walvis Bay and Luderitz and developing the wider Maputo-Gaborone-Walvis Bay Strategic Corridor will be important for the future of these value chains”.

Apart from just helping in facilitating the hydrogen deal, Urpilainen said that the upgraded ports of entry will serve another important function for Namibia as they will help in aiding intra-African trade. Moreover, it will transform Namibia into a logistics hub in the southern African region. “Namibia has ambitions to make the port of Walvis Bay into a logistics hub for the Southern Africa Development Community. The port could also facilitate trade and mobility beyond the region, inter Africa, and between Africa and Europe, further advancing economic integration,” Urpilainen said.

More benefits set to come Namibia’s way thanks to its hydrogen deal with the EU relates to job creation. As relayed by Urpilainen, “The development of green hydrogen and downstream industries has the potential to create thousands of jobs in the coming years. Namibia alone has a pipeline of projects of around 21 billion euros ($22.2 billion) to be developed by 2030… Likewise, the development of critical raw materials (lithium, rare earth minerals, graphite, cobalt) production and beneficiation industry has the potential to generate a significant number of jobs in the coming years”.

Urpilainen also stated that the EU-Namibia deal is a plus for the southern African region as “the successful development of a green hydrogen industry in Namibia is poised to create spillover effects for the region along the value chain from the creation of downstream industries – for example on e-fuels and e-steel – to excess clean electricity to be sold to the regional electricity market via the Southern Africa Power Pool”.

Commenting on the effectiveness and feasibility of the Belt and Road Initiative as well as the Global Gateway Initiative, PhD scholar Davis Rwangoga said, "The economic growth of a country or region is predominantly dependent upon existing infrastructure". Owing to this, the initiatives are indeed beneficial to Africa. He however cautioned that before ratifying and accepting all deals emanating from both initiatives, African countries need to thoroughly review them to ensure that guarantee a win-win scenario instead of simply allowing the East and West to expand their hegemonic influence on the global stage.