UN Secretary-General António Guterres has said Africa’s resources must create jobs and wealth on the continent, not be shipped abroad unprocessed.
Speaking in New York on 20 September at the fifth Unstoppable Africa forum, on the margins of the UN General Assembly, he said the world was moving “from doing business in Africa, to doing business with Africa”.
He cited a $3 trillion market, the world’s fastest-growing labour force, 30% of global minerals and 60% of solar potential. Africa’s economy grew 4.4% last year, he said, while AfCFTA trade is on course for $230 billion this year.
But higher costs, mineral rivalry and global conflicts were tightening the squeeze. The answer, he argued, was local industry, financial reform, climate finance and permanent African seats on the UN Security Council.
“A rising Africa is a rising world,” he said.
