"Brexit will not affect much of Africa" ​​- British diplomat

General News of Saturday, March 23, 2019

Source: dailyguidenetwork.com

2019-03-23

The exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union (EU) known as Brexit would not have as many harmful effects on the African continent as many people think.

The British diplomat and politician, Baroness Valerie Ann Amos, reported on Friday, March 22, in Accra at a public conference organized by the Council On Foreign Relations Ghana.

The theme of the conference was: "Does the withdrawal of multilateralism create new opportunities for the African continent?" And discusses the implications for Africa if Britain withdrew from the European Union ( EU).

She admitted that Brexit would certainly have an impact on the development of the African continent "but I do not think it's a lot like people think."

According to her, Britain was not a first world power for a long time despite its status as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.

She said UK investments in defense and foreign policy priorities have been declining for many years "and there have been recent attempts to address them".

She added that "and its commitment to development has remained strong because of the legislation that underpins the commitment of 0.7% of GDP to spend on development aid".

However, she explained that "but there are constant calls inside and outside the government to change that commitment."

According to the diplomat, Ghana has strong bilateral relations with Britain that will continue.

She explained that trade relations between the two countries would remain largely the same.

She said China has become Ghana's biggest trading partner, not Britain.

According to her, on a trade volume of less than $ 100 million between Ghana and China in 2000, the volume of trade between the two countries had risen to $ 6.2 billion in 2017.

That, she says, Britain can not compete with.

However, she added, African countries need to check their investment agreements with China, which currently has about 10,000 companies on the continent, and seems to take an interventionist approach to the continent's development compared to the Western world. which, according to her, continues to play with rhetoric.

In the meantime, she said Brexit would have implications for the EU.

Britain is due to leave the EU on March 29, 2019, but its Prime Minister, Theresa May, has called on European leaders for an extension.

According to diplomat Ann Amos, British citizens feel that their country has become the laughingstock of the international scene and that British leaders still do not know what it would mean for the exit of the European Union from Great Britain.