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Events Renowned expert Ian Taylor to speak on African-Asian relations GRINNELL, Iowa – Ian Taylor, Professor of International Relations at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland and author of the recently-published China and Africa: Engagement and Compromise, will give a lecture titled “Bandung Returns? South-South Linkages in the Global Political Economy” at 8 p.m., Monday, April 2, in the Joe Rosenfield ’25 Center, Room 101. Taylor will also hold an informal discussion on Africa’s position in international politics at 4.15 p.m. the same day, in the Forum South Lounge. Taylor has published numerous books, articles and research papers in international political economy, focusing on the influence of globalization on development in Africa as well as critical regional issues specific to East Asia. In his lecture, sponsored by the Organisation for African-Asian Relations (AFRASIA), the Rosenfield Program and the Center for International Studies, Taylor will consider historic and present-day linkages between Africa and Asia. Working his way from the first Asian-African Conference at Bandung, Indonesia in 1955, he will trace both ideological and pragmatic ties between the world’s two largest continents. According to AFRASIA, Taylor’s lecture and the open discussion aim to foster dialogue concerning socio-economic issues pertaining to Africa and Asia. This topic is both timely and relevant given the current spate of interaction and the ever increasing trade volume between the two continents. The talk and discussion will both inform Grinnellians and challenge them to look at how increased cooperation between Africa and Asia could change the current international politico-economic environment as well as the implications of the increasing influence of Asian countries, particularly China, on African development. Taylor is a renowned expert in the area of African development and foreign policy. He is Professor Extraordinary in Political Science at the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa and Visiting Lecturer to the Faculty of Development Studies, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Uganda. He also serves as editor of the journal African Security and the Review of International Studies. Open Discussion by Dr. Ian Taylor, “Africa’s Position in International Politics” April 2, 2007; 4:15 pm; Forum South Lounge Lecture by Dr. Ian Taylor, “Bandung Returns? South-South Linkages in the Global Political Economy” April 2, 2007; 8:00 pm; Joe Rosenfield ’25 Center, Room 101 About African-Asian Relations Links between Africa and Asia date back to over 35,000 years ago; many scholars and historians have established that the first Africans migrated to Asia before moving to other parts of the world. Africa and Asia have long shared political, economic and cultural links, as evinced by historical connections, linguistic similarities and a common ideological opposition to “white imperialists.” In the contemporary world, Africa and Asia continue to share pragmatic links in trade as well as political links in opposition to real and perceived U.S./Western hegemony. Many past links between nations in Asia and Africa are being opportunistically rendered visible to further economic and political interests. African-Asian relations is very much current news: China’s political and economic links with Africa is making headlines around the world, and for good reason. Trade between China and African nations currently stands at USD55.5 billion, compared to USD4 billion 10 years ago. China is gaining a stronghold in Africa by claiming to counter U.S. hegemony and by offering various African states both financial and infrastructural aid “with no strings attached.” Indeed, Asia as a whole is becoming an important player in foreign aid donation and infrastructural development to Africa. Questions relating to foreign policy, international trade and human rights abound. Furthermore, these two largest continents hold shared cultural assumptions and values. Colonial ties bring many African and Asian countries together via the Commonwealth. A common love for football unites many more countries. Several African and Asian countries have close ties, for instance, Nigeria-China and Malaysia-Zimbabwe. These already existing ties might lead to much greater ones, and it is interesting to note how some countries use these ties to further their own political and economic interests. Who We Are Mission The Organization for African-Asian Relations (AFRASIA) is a student-run organization at Grinnell College committed to creating an open forum for dialogue on issues pertaining to Africa and Asia as partners in the global economy. We aim to foster discussion concerning socio-economic issues affecting Africa and Asia. We want to both inform Grinnellians and challenge them to look at how increased cooperation between Africa and Asia could change the current international politico-economic environment as well as the implications of the increasing influence of Asian countries, particularly China, on African development. Members, 2006-2007 Olajumoke Adekeye ‘08 Terence Bokosha ‘09 Mark Francis ‘08 Nmachi Jidenma ‘09 Phoebe Leung ‘09 Smita Sharma ‘08 Resources Press Articles (by date published) 03/17/2007—Ethiopia: Politics: is It a Win-Win Situation? 02/01/2007—China Jumps In 01/26/2007—China, Africa, and Oil 11/05/2006—Beijing Summit adopts declaration, highlighting China-Africa strategic partnership 08/03/2006—China’s Booming Energy Relations with Africa 07/10/2006—China, Africa, Asia: New Directions? 04/24/2006—Hu’s Asia-Africa Tour to Bolster Relations 10/25/2000—Malaysia: Asian Business Mission To Uganda And Tanzania Marked a Success 04/13/1998—South Africa, China to boost relations Books (by author) Broadman, Harry: Africa’s Silk Road: China and India’s New Economic Frontier Taylor, Ian: China and Africa: Engagement and Compromise Miscellaneous (by title) Asia and Africa into the Global Economy: Background and Introduction China’s Africa Strategy: A New Approach To Development And Diplomacy? Growing Afro-Asian Ties: Opportunities for Future Research Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Japan-Africa Relations Kuala Lumpur New Millennium Statement on Asia-Africa Cooperation: Asia-Africa Forum III 1. The Third Asia-Africa Forum (AAF III) was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from May 23 to 25, 2000, organized by the Government of Malaysia, the Government of Japan, the United Nations and Global Coalition for Africa. The Right Honorable Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad delivered the keynote address in which he emphasized the great potential of Asia-Africa cooperation. 10 Asian countries, 49 African countries, 13 donor countries and 11 international, regional and sub-regional organizations participated in the meeting. 2. The Forum built upon the results and achievements of the Second Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD II) held in October 1998, as well as the First and Second Asia-Africa Forums - held in 1994 and 1997 in Indonesia and Thailand respectively. The Forum focused on the two productive sectors addressed in the Tokyo Agenda for Action, namely, the agricultural and the private sector development. The meeting considered forward looking strategies, bearing in mind the need for broad-based growth for poverty reduction and for integrating African economies into the increasingly globalizing world. 3. In the context of strengthening capacity development, the meeting identified capacity constraints in Africa and Asia, and highlighted the relevant experiences from both regions to overcome these constraints. The meeting further identified an initial group of Asian and African institutions to initiate the formation of "Asia-Africa cooperation networks." 4. Given the importance of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in accelerating the process of globalization, and the consequent widening of the gap between the developing and developed countries, the meeting examined specific possibilities of incorporating ICT into future Asia-Africa cooperation. 5. The meeting concluded that: · African and Asian countries need to further strengthen their partnership, and exchange development experiences, which would be useful to overcome capacity constraints. The development in Asia-Africa cooperation since TICAD in 1993 is a reflection of the growing partnership; · The international community, including donor countries, international, regional and sub-regional organizations, the private sector and civil society should play important roles in promoting and enhancing Asia-Africa cooperation. Furthermore, other international fora such as the G8 should support the efforts made by Asian and African countries; · Agriculture and the private sector remain critical in African and Asian development, hence, inter-regional cooperation in these areas should be further enhanced. In order to address the capacity constraints in agriculture and private sector development, "networking" of African and Asian institutions is important; · In the context of promoting concerted support for increased productivity and the transformation of Africa's predominantly agrarian economies into industrializing economies; Asian and African countries should undertake collaborative research for the development of technological packages and cost-effective production systems for turning natural resources and natural products into goods and services to ensure value added, employment generation, and increase both income and revenue; · In both regions, the private sector is an important engine of growth. Therefore,it is necessary to promote its development, particularly small-and-medium-sized enterprises, and to facilitate its participation in enhancing Asia-Africa cooperation; and · Asian and African countries, with the support of their development partners, should formulate strategies to ensure wider availability and usage of ICT, especially in the fields of capacity building and awareness, public policies and the legislative framework, technical assistance and infrastructure building. 6. The Annex to this statement contains the recommendations of each Working Group of the Forum. 7. Finally, the meeting expressed its appreciation to the Government of Malaysia for its warm and generous hospitality as well as to the co-organizers for all the arrangements made and support given for the success of the Forum. Kuala Lumpur May 25, 2000 Asia-Africa Forum III Agricultural Development The Working Group on Agriculture revisited the major capacity constraints that have affected this sector. These related to weak infrastructure, inappropriate land tenure systems, non-use of improved technologies for food production and processing, lack of access to credit facilities and lack of appropriate skills and knowledge. With reference to the Tokyo Agenda for Action (TAA), the group noted that the recommendations contained therein, needed to be translated into concrete plans. It also observed that specific priorities differ from country to country and that this needed to be taken into account in the next steps. Considering the above, the group recommended a plan of action leading to the formulation of concrete project proposals on the basis of the TAA. This Plan of Action proposes the use of focal points in African and Asian countries to highlight country priorities for cooperation in this sector as well as to identifying institutions that can participate in the collaborative efforts. An Experts Group meeting, involving experts from specialized institutions, will assist in the drawing up of project and programme ideas for Asia-Africa cooperation, which will be further developed into detailed project proposals to be presented for funding, as appropriate. Possible areas of cooperation to be identified should include areas for which Asia has made considerable headway: agro-processing industries; drought and famine management for food security; water control, water harvesting and management; agricultural research and technology transfer; agriculture and setting up of micro credit/financing systems. It is envisaged that the proposals will be ready before the end of the year 2001. In order to maintain a flow of information, it was agreed that an information exchange channel be established to include a website that would contain information on priority areas and collaborating institutions in African and Asian countries, as well as information on past and on-going cooperation activities in the agriculture sector. Private Sector Development The Working Group on Private Sector Development underlined a number of capacity constraints. The constraints included existence of a weak policy and legal framework, poor infrastructure, small size of domestic markets, and inadequate capacity of private sector support institutions. In addition, heavy bureaucracy, financial constraints, weak human resources development and information and communication technologies to facilitate e-commerce, a lack of political will in some African countries, and dependency on production of and exportation of raw materials and semi-processed primary commodities were underlined as capacity constraints. In view of the above, the Group made several recommendations in order to overcome major capacity constraints in the sector. The recommendations included encouraging African countries to take measures to promote a conducive environment for private sector development such as good governance, sound macro-economic policies and transparent legal systems; and supporting African countries in broadening their access to Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to support the productiveness and competitiveness of the private sector and the development of an e-economy. To support the on-going private sector activities, it was recommended to intensifysuch initiatives as: i) the Second Africa-Asia Business Forum (AABF-II) as an effective vehicle to bring together Asian and African business partners to negotiate and implement trade and joint ventures; and ii) the Zambia-Malawi-Mozambique Growth Triangle (ZMM-GT), based on the Asian Growth Triangle model, which should serve as an appropriate and effective framework responding to the challenges of Asia and Africa cooperation. In addition, the Group recommended the development of small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs). According to the Group., there was need to fully support the SMEs including ensuring that they have access to credit to enable them to perform their role as the engine of growth and employment in the African economy. Furthermore, it was recommended that support should be provided to programmes that utilize the technical cooperation among developing countries to promote human resources development and capacity building through Asian experiences. In relation to having an effective public-private sector dialogue, it was recommended that approaches to public-private sector cooperation be strengthened by, among, other things, enhancing the performance of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CCIs) and Business Councils in Africa to play a more proactive role through such programmes as the "smart" private-public sector partnership with Asia. Realising the importance of inter-regional cooperation, the Group recommended the establishment of inter-regional cooperation between Asian and African sub-regional organizations to facilitate their role as information exchange points and to facilitate networking, exchange of experiences and best practices, through the exchange of visits and the utilization of Asian professionals/experts in short-term assignments in African countries. Finally, it was recommended that joint and collaborative research should be promoted to facilitate and enable the development of technological packages for the industrial use of raw materials and the design of cost-effective and efficient production systems for converting these research results into consumer products in the market place. MTSB Opens Malaysian Business Center in Uganda South-South Investment: The Case of Africa The Rise of China and India—What’s in it for Africa? (OECD) Contact E-mail: afrasia@grinnell.edu Credits Images used for the header were taken from bigfoto.com and this website was designed with Microsoft Publisher using a custom template. Unless otherwise noted, all images and text are copyright protected. |