Africa’s importance to Europe is also becoming structural.
From an African perspective, says Ovigwe Eguegu, a policy analyst at Development Reimagined, the growing rift between the US and Europe reflects Washington’s push for Europe to shoulder more responsibility for its own security as US priorities shift elsewhere. As the US scales back its role, European states are being forced to ramp up defence spending and strengthen their militaries.
Given Africa’s proximity, Eguegu argues, European security planning is increasingly factoring in the continent, driving deeper At the same time, he says, Europe’s push to rebuild its industrial base will require vast amounts of energy and strategic resources – from oil and gas to cobalt, copper and uranium
– as well as labour for manufacturing and markets for exports. That shift, he adds, brings Africa back into sharp focus.
“Historically, Europe has always looked at Africa as a storehouse of commodities, labour and a market,” Eguegu tells The Africa Report. That logic, he argues, is returning with greater force.
“Africa still has deep reserves of key resources, it is undergoing a demographic boom that provides labour, and its middle class is growing
