The African continent, afflicted for years by bitter wars,
political turbulence and economic stagnation, is entering a new
stage, seeking peace and security and promoting economic
development.
Towards all-round peace and security
The overall situation in the African political arena has
improved and become increasingly stabilized.
Civil wars in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Angola and Burundi have
come to a standstill, and the war-scarred nations are using the
hard-won peaceful environment to rebuild.
On May 5, the Sudanese government signed the Darfur Peace
Agreement with the main faction of the rebel Sudan Liberation
Movement (SLM) in the Nigerian capital Abuja, a development that
promises peace for the battered western Sudanese region of
Darfur.
On Aug. 26, the Ugandan government and the rebel Lord's
Resistance Army (LRA) signed the cessation of hostilities
agreement, a step closer to a final peace agreement to end the
20-year rebellion in northern Uganda.
On Dec. 6, Joseph Kabila was inaugurated in Kinshasa as the
Democratic Republic of Congo's first democratically elected
president - the country's first - opening a new page for the
war-torn country.
And Africa's Great Lakes region, after being plagued with
chronic violence and tangled intra- and inter-state conflicts since
the 1990s, is making its way out of long-term turbulence and
heading towards an all-round peace.
As they move towards political stability, most African countries
are absorbed in exploring their own path for development. And peace
and development has become an overriding theme of the
resource-rich, but underdeveloped continent.
Steady economic development
African countries have witnessed a steady and relatively rapid
growth in their economies, thanks to vigorous economic reforms,
realistic economic development programs and cautious monetary and
fiscal policies.
In 2005, the African economy as a whole grew by 5.5 percent, the
biggest increase in 30 years and above the world average rate of
economic growth.
And the vigorous pace is projected to be maintained in 2006,
according to World Economic Outlook released by the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) in September 2006.
The overall economy of southern African countries will advance
at a brisk 6 percent pace, said the IMF document. And the eight
oil-producing nations in the sub-Saharan region are expected to log
a robust rise in growth of 10 percent this year. In Angola, the
economy is projected to grow at a rate of up to 25 percent.
A more united Africa on the world stage
A more consolidated Africa, as seen at events such as the
biannual African Union (AU) summit, the Beijing Summit of the Forum
on China-Africa Cooperation and the Africa-South America summit,
has become an increasingly influential force on the international
scene.
As the largest political and economic entity on the continent,
the AU plays a key role in intervening and settling regional
conflicts, promoting peace and security, advancing the
implementation of the New Partnership for African Development and
facilitating the process of African economic integration.
With the AU leading the way, African countries have assumed a
common stance on major international issues - the United Nations
reforms and the Doha Round of WTO trade talks - in an outstanding
performance on the world stage.
Other regional African organizations, including the Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the summit mechanism
of the International Conference on the Great Lakes, also contribute
a lot to regional peace and development.
At the second Summit of the International Conference on the
Great Lakes, which ended in Nairobi on Dec. 15, the 11 countries in
the Great Lakes region signed a security, stability and development
pact, which gave top priority to peace, democracy, good governance,
economic development and regional integration as well as
humanitarian social issues.
Advancements in social areas
African countries have also been striding ahead in social
areas.
Efforts to reduce poverty in many countries, including Senegal,
Mozambique, Cameroon and Uganda have made great advances, said a
report, Africa Development Indicators 2006, released by the World
Bank in November.
The report specified the achievements made by African countries
in social areas: the enrollment in primary education has seen a
considerable rise; the AIDS incidence and infant mortality rate has
begun to decline; and gender equality has notably improved.
And the Africans are also undergoing profound changes in the way
they think - focusing on self-reliance rather than foreign
assistance.
In a bid to make themselves more attractive to investors, most
African countries have adopted more favorable regulatory frameworks
and policies at national, bilateral and regional levels.
Huge opportunities offered to the world
Africa, with improved security situation and steady economic
development, has created a most favorable environment for investors
from around the world.
The World Bank said in a report that doing business became
easier in Africa in 2005-2006.
Forty-five regulatory reforms in 30 economies in the region
reduced time, cost, and hassle for businesses to comply with legal
and administrative requirements. And two-thirds of African
countries have made at least one reform, the report added.
A survey conducted by the US Department of Commerce showed that
the rate of investment returns in Africa has been more than 36
percent in recent years, while the figure stands at 16 percent in
Asia and at an averaged 14 percent worldwide. The continent,
therefore, is now the territory of profit-seeking international
investors and entrepreneurs, and has been deemed the "last
investment frontier of the world."
With the advent of an economic resurgence, Africans have
embarked on the road towards prosperity. In a land where the supply
of most commodities, from daily necessities to highly sophisticated
products, is heavily dependent on imports, the gradually amplified
purchasing power will continually stimulate market demands, opening
up tremendous commercial opportunities for the rest of the
world.
And the exploration of energy sources and mineral deposits, the
construction of infrastructure, and the development of agriculture
on the resource-rich continent will surely add to its charm and
draw the attention of entrepreneurs from around the world.
Experts expect inflows to the region will increase sharply in
2006 against a backdrop of a high volume of new projects and
renewed merger and acquisition activity.
In this positive environment, the continent's trade with the
rest of the world, currently averaging nearly US$300 billion every
year, is bound to expand at a fast pace. Economists estimate that
the one-way trade - the imports into Africa - will reach US$480
billion by 2025.
(Xinhua News Agency December 19, 2006）
