I thank you very much. In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Your Excellency, the President, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the visionary leader.
Your Excellencies, the presidents of African states and governments.
I would also like to thank His Excellency Obasanjo, who traveled from Kenya to here. I don't know how he got here at the age of 90, from the private sector.
Ladies and gentlemen, it is an honor to be among you today here in the City of the Two Holy Mosques, and especially to participate in this dialogue — a dialogue that calls on us all to think about the future of our beloved continent.
We are living in an era in which many changes have occurred that have affected the global economy. Trade is now dominated by geopolitical supply chains that depend on national security and geography for production.
Energy has once again become the focus of diplomatic policies and investment decisions, and governments around the world are rediscovering industrial policies. The world is facing a great deal of disruption, and the role of the economy is now subject to change.
Africa is no stranger to this environment. The question before us is: how can Africa achieve higher growth? We must ask ourselves this question: what kind of growth can drive Africa forward in a world that has become divided and less predictable?
For me, this must be the core of the new covenant for Africa. We want to transform African economies for growth, and we used to celebrate increases in gross national income as an indicator of growth, but growth alone is not enough.
In what areas is this growth achieved? What local opportunities does this growth create? What jobs are available from this economy? And what about the economic resilience that exists?
Africa represents 18.5% of the world's population, but only 2% of the value added in global trade, and 0.8% of high-tech exports. This gap does not only shed light on gross national income, but it represents a challenge.
A country can achieve significant growth in gross national income while remaining dependent on importing food, machinery, medicines, and vital technologies. Such an economy may grow steadily, but it becomes more structurally fragile.
The next phase of development in Africa must focus not only on the growth process, but on shaping that growth and its strength, and this requires a fundamental change.
As Africa moves toward greater capabilities, in fact Africa already possesses many capabilities. We have a large share of minerals that are essential for manufacturing the technologies of the future, and we have vast agricultural lands representing about 60% of the world's arable land.
We also have large areas for generating renewable energy, and young populations, where we find a large proportion under the age of... And through the Free Trade Agreement in Africa, African markets are indeed available, and skills become an important advantage for African economies.
We find that Africa is a strong and vast continent, but there is a need to support the different economies. Manufacturing in a single African country does contribute significantly.
But we find that there are different regulations in each African country, different systems, different payment systems, and different border procedures from one country to another, in addition to differences in logistics and logistical obstacles.
But even with this African exchange, we still have many opportunities. For example, what we consume in Nigeria differs from what is consumed in Togo, Ghana, or other countries. There must be alignment. These figures only show the problem.
Only 16 out of 46 African countries manufacture intermediate goods, and more than half of the continent's exports and imports involve five economies from outside Africa.
Therefore, neighboring economies must all be interconnected. This fragmentation or division is what weakens Africa. Businesses in Africa are smaller than required, and investment decisions become more difficult.
This common market does not translate into a strong or shared economic power. The Free Trade Agreement in Africa offers us all an opportunity, but we must think of this agreement not only as a trade agreement.
There must be an expansion in infrastructure so that we make investment possible within the African continent, and so that this investment is cross-border among African countries.
We must also design a market that aims to reach 30 million people. This is one of the proposals, and there is a need for more proposals so that there is genuine integration.
Your Excellencies, distinguished guests, there is another issue that needs more attention. African entrepreneurs do not lack ambition, but what limits them is the cost and the environment in which they operate, and this increases competitiveness.
Of course, the cost here relates to the cost of capital, the cost of transport, the cost of logistics, and the cost of crossing borders. And sometimes there is the cost associated with existing policies that lack certainty.
The gaps in infrastructure in areas such as transport and energy, among others, make costs increase by 50% above the global average. The African manufacturer competes globally with lower costs in other markets.
This increases the cost of African goods. If we want investment to move from trade to manufacturing, we need long-term assets and we must work to reduce these costs. This is possible.
And we have proven that this is something we can do, as we supply more than 20% of the energy used by the European Union. There must be a change in policies.
We must identify the cost of manufacturing a single good and compare this cost with similar economies. Also, the number of hours lost in business due to the unavailability of electricity — which is the case in many African countries.
How much time is needed to reach the airport? How much time is needed to reach the markets? How can we cross borders? This question may seem operational, but collectively we need to make these decisions to strengthen industry in Africa.
Everything that affects industry in Africa is energy, and there is a need for energy infrastructure. The formation of energy in Africa will always remain important, but obtaining energy is only the starting point.
And it of course helps business run. For several decades, the average per capita electricity consumption in Africa was much higher than that of India or Central Asia. But today, we find that per capita electricity consumption in India has risen significantly.
And it has increased at a higher rate in Southeast Asia. The expansion in the use of electricity and electricity supplies helps trade and helps stabilize manufacturing operations.
Manufacturing operations greatly help African economies, but this has also led to an increase in household electricity consumption. Therefore, there is a need for an integrated energy strategy that helps achieve industrial ambitions.
We must start by thinking about energy from an economic perspective, especially energy-intensive industries, and think about investment corridors, agriculture, financial centers, and technology.
And major cities and agglomerations. Energy systems must be platforms for developing other industries, and we must stop importing raw materials and start exporting fully manufactured goods.
The new growth covenant includes the private sector. In this dialogue, we must choose between the state and the market. Africa does not have the markets that allow assistance, because we cannot support the private sector if there are no strong governments.
And we must support entrepreneurs and encourage them to have competitive businesses. The challenge is not to decide which side we should lead, but these institutions must help both the state and the private sector succeed.
They must do what is best in terms of the policies put in place, and encourage entrepreneurs, and make prosperity available.
Of course, providing infrastructure and protecting market integration are two important things. Markets need capital to build companies and provide the appropriate environment.
When these roles are integrated, we find that there is an increase in investments. And of course, we always find that capital always defends itself and always tries to reach favorable environments that help them work.
Therefore, today's legislation is what helps make tomorrow's decisions. There is also a need for an African approach so that there are global partnerships.
Africa must be a participant in every economic center. We need investments, technology, markets, and partnerships from all over the world, but the quality of these partnerships must rise to help Africa.
Good partnership helps African capabilities and provides the necessary skills, and this helps local companies work with modern technologies and enter global markets.
As much as possible, we seek to participate in international value chains. Africa will not seek a place in the global scene, but we must define our economic destination and seek the partnerships that will help us reach this goal.
Ladies and gentlemen, the global disruption we are witnessing today may continue for some time, and Africa will not remain at the mercy of any event happening far from Africa's shores.
But our economies must be resilient in the face of these disruptions, and Africa must become a base for precision industries and complex industries.
The industries in Africa have become small in scale, but with time and with the necessary financing, Africa can define its economy and its growth.
And if Africa provides the necessary materials for global markets, especially in the field of technology, this option will be the reason for the new African growth.
We are about 20 years away from 2050, and therefore Africa must be the supplier of food, mineral materials, fully manufactured goods, and others.
The world we live in today is changing, and this gives Africa a rare opportunity, because we need to have a fixed place in the global economy. We can design this economy, and this must be the ambition of African governments and African partners.
And also to secure Africa's share of growth and increase Africa's capacity to create this growth.
I would like to thank all our leaders for providing this support, especially Afreximbank, because many countries would have faced many difficulties were it not for Afreximbank.
I can say in my testimony that without Afreximbank and the other banks, we would not be where we are today. And I thank you for giving me this opportunity.
The visions of our leaders are extremely important. Foreign banks will not help us develop our continent; only Africans will develop Africa, not anyone else.
Africa must unite for the development of Africa. For this reason, our group supports Vision 2030, and we are currently investing over four years about 50 billion dollars.
And we have invested only in Kenya about 16 billion dollars, and we have done this work and obtained the approvals.
So we welcome all cooperation with us today. What I want to commit to before our leaders is: if you allow this agreement, the Free Trade Agreement, to exist — free movement of people, services, and goods — if we do not interact with each other, there is no other way to build the Africa we dream of.
I know that prosperity, job creation, and other matters require stability, and this stability provides jobs, as we have the youngest populations in the world.
And if we do not cooperate with each other, we will face difficult times. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Aliko, Excellencies, and ladies and gentlemen. I am pleased to welcome the leader...
