COMMENTS / EXPERT ASSESSMENT
Madagascar can help bridge Africa-Asia ties
Published: Mar 26, 2017 07:48 PM

Illustration: Luo Xuan/GT


Infrastructure is an obstacle to development in Africa, but could also be an opportunity for Asia to strengthen its cooperation with the continent. Asia and Africa are two regions that will have the world's fastest economic growth in the short and medium term, and are expected to remain major growth engines for the global economy in the future. Thus, cooperation between the two continents should be strengthened.

The major problems facing various African countries are the lack of funds, insufficient infrastructure as well as the impact of climate change, which have long impeded inclusive growth and poverty reduction. It is highly crucial for African countries, including Madagascar, to work hard to fight poverty, because poverty may lead to turmoil and terrorism. Promoting development and international trade cannot live without stability. Therefore we should strive to build a stable environment in Africa and the world as a whole.

Africa has a huge demand for infrastructure such as roads, railways and ports. Madagascar hopes to participate in the China-proposed One Belt and One Road initiative to better integrate itself into regional and global economic development, which will help improve the country's competitiveness.

A top priority on Africa's development agenda lies in industrialization. Various Asian countries' experience with industrialization may help African countries achieve economic transformation and better seize the existing development opportunities. I hope that Asian countries could help African nations formulate industrial development policies that are in line with their own national conditions and allow them to achieve sustainable development in industrial sectors. In addition, African countries should also consider how to push up productivity and production efficiency in a variety of areas, how to increase the added value of African exports and how to move up in the global value chain.

With China's push, various countries in Asia have benefited greatly from the liberalization of trade, and so has the rest of the world, including African countries. Admittedly, economic globalization has also brought some risks, such as economic crises and instability in the financial markets, which have substantially affected the economic advancement and job increases in some countries.

Given these risks, quite a number of countries are inclined toward conservativism, nationalism or trade protectionism. Yet, African and Asian countries should establish partnerships and cooperation to face the challenges in promoting trade liberalization, which will be conducive to the inclusive growth of the global economy.

In addition, refining the investment environment is a challenge African countries need to face. Only by overcoming this challenge can African countries embrace the opportunities of world economic development. Africa and Asia must join hands to make good use of their comparative advantages to obtain capital and resources by leveraging advantages of their human resources as well as small- and medium-sized enterprises.

With 600 million consumers, Africa is currently in the process of regional market integration, and it is also building a unified market for trade liberalization, which is something we have learned from Asia. Madagascar is a part of Africa, located at the crossroads of Asia and Africa. This is a strategic position, and Madagascar truly hopes it could become a bridge for the future cooperation between the two continents.

The article was compiled based on a speech made by Hery Rajaonarimampianina, President of Madagascar, at the Boao Forum for Asia. bizopinion@globaltimes.com.cn