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## Reimagining Africa-International Summits for a New Era
africa has long been a site of international competition, and the continent’s relationships with external partners are undergoing a significant shift. while the first China-Africa Forum (2000) and the inaugural Africa+1 summits signaled a desire for greater engagement, the nature of these partnerships remains uneven. Africa’s growing agency and the increasing diversity of its partnerships-including with China, India, Turkey, the European Union, and the United States-demand a reassessment of established summit formats.
The proliferation of summits risks becoming a talking shop, generating declarations without concrete outcomes. As the Mo Ibrahim Foundation notes, Africa is not a monolithic entity, and a one-size-fits-all approach to partnerships is ineffective.[1] Indeed, the continent’s diverse political and economic landscapes require tailored engagement strategies. The rise of China as a major economic and political actor in Africa, as highlighted by Murphy, further complicates the dynamics of international partnerships.[2] beijing’s approach, often characterized by infrastructure financing and non-interference in domestic affairs, presents both opportunities and challenges for African nations.
However, the success of Africa’s international partnerships hinges on a basic shift in approach. Genuine partnership requires humility, reciprocity and a willingness to move beyond old hierarchies. For Africa+1 summits to remain relevant in the decades ahead, they must evolve into spaces where power is shared rather than imposed, and where prosperous collaboration is measured by delivery, not declarations. The future of Africa’s international partnerships will depend as much on how summits are reimagined as on who sits at the table.
### Endnotes
[1] Mo Ibrahim Foundation, *Global africa*. [https://mo.ibrahim.foundation/global-africa/](https://mo.ibrahim.foundation/global-africa/)
[2] Ibid.
[3] murphy, D.C. (2022). *China’s rise in the Global South: The Middle East, Africa, and Beijing’s choice world order*. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press.
### About the authors
Amandine Gnanguênon
Amandine Gnanguênon is Senior Fellow and Head of the Geopolitics and Geoeconomics Program at the African Policy Institute (AfriPol). She holds a PhD in political science from the University Clermont Auvergne (France). Her areas of focus include regional integration, peace and security, governance, artificial intelligence (AI) and digitalization, and climate-related issues.
Elie Herzog
Elie Herzog is a former intern for
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