Insights

All eyes are on Botswana next month, as the country’s sales agreement for diamonds with De Beers comes up for renewal. President Mokgweetsi Masisi has threatened to end the Debswana project – a partnership between Botswana and De Beers in place since 1969 – unless Botswana receives a bigger share of diamond revenues. The negotiations…

Since 15 April, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been clashing for control of the capital Khartoum and other parts of Sudan. More than 420 people have been killed in the violence, and over 3,700 injured, while thousands have fled to safer parts of Sudan or into neighbouring countries.…

This month, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), an advisory body to the UN, published its latest report on global warming. The conclusions were alarming: hitting the target of ensuring that the world’s temperature does not rise by more than 1.5°C is all but impossible, with this ceiling likely to be breached by as…

Africa is becoming the destination of choice for senior officials from the world’s superpowers. Since the beginning of 2023, China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen have all visited the continent. French President Emmanuel Macron also embarks on a four-country African tour this week, while US…

This year, a series of high-profile elections will take place across Africa. Voters will decide whether to give incumbents another term to address existing challenges, or take a chance on a new set of leaders. Inflation and interest rates, while improving, remain high, and supply chains are constrained. Progress has been made, but growth in…

Last month, Africa Matters Limited (AML) co-Managing Director Piers Dawson and Associate Joy Kibaki were in Nairobi, Kenya, meeting senior-governments officials and private sector investors. Their engagements came three months after President William Ruto was declared the winner of Kenya’s presidential election by the electoral commission, with his 13 September inauguration marking the end of…

The 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) was held this month in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. Dubbed “Africa’s COP”, it foregrounded many of the issues that countries on the continent are facing as a result of climate change. COP27 also saw discussions on the interrelation between climate change, agriculture, and food security take a more…

October has been a busy month for the Democratic Republic of Congo’s high-level diplomacy. The government has made efforts to present the country as open for business, as a reliable partner, and as a crucial solution country for the climate crisis. The beginning of the month saw pre-COP27 hosted in Kinshasa, with ministerial delegations flying…

High profile events this year will foreground Africa’s role in the struggle against climate change. Global leaders will come together this November at the UN Climate Change Conference COP27 in Egypt, while preliminary ministerial and scientific meetings are being held in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) at pre-COP27 across September and October. In the…

On 8 August 2022, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken proudly proclaimed that the US has a new strategy for Africa. Blinken made the announcement while delivering a speech in Pretoria, South Africa, on the first stop of a three-country tour which also included the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda. The announcement…