November 20 was established as “African Industrial Day” in 1989 by Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and the United Nations. Since last year, the African Union hosted an event related to industrial development in Africa with the anniversary as “Africa Industrialization Week”. This year, from November 18th to 22nd, 2019, the theme was “Positioning African Industry to Supply the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCTA) Market” (African Union, 2019).

The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) is an agreement that forms a free trade zone that eliminates tariffs and other obstacles in the member states of the African Union (AU), and is scheduled to run from July 2020 (DW, 2019). This economic zone is expected to be the world’s largest with a population of 1.3 billion (Balima, 2019). African Union committees held forums on topics such as special economic zones and global value chains for the successful implementation of this free trade zone, and formed partnerships among African countries, international organizations, aid agencies and aid partners. In addition, the fourth annual meeting was held by Africa Free Zones Organization (AFZO), a regional organization in Africa established in 2015. In this conference, participants and experts from 60 economic zones in 43 African countries attended and discussed the topics of governance, FDI in African economic zones, job creation, and skills building under the title of “Economic Zones – Accelerator for Industrialization in Africa” (Dzokpo, 2019).

During this week, China and South Korea also hosted forums and conferences, respectively, and worked to strengthen partnerships with African industries. South Korea held the 2019 Africa-Korea Business Forum on the 22nd to share the knowledge based on Korea’s industrialization experience. In addition, the 2019 Africa-Korea Start Up / SMEs Fair was held from 19th to 21st (African Union, 2019). The fair introduced Korean youth startup businesses in Africa, and shared strategies for successful start-ups between Africa and Korea. China held The China-Ethiopia Investment Meeting on the 20th, and public and private sector representatives discussed the creation of employment, strategies for industrial development, and upcoming investments (Xinhua, 2019).

Given these situations, it is certain that not only international organizations and Western European countries but also China and South Korea have become more involved in African industry and are energetically creating relationships with Africa. While large economies are forming on the African continent and China and Korea are strengthening partnerships, Japan’s industrial relations with Africa will also be a subject of attention in the future.

References:

African Union (2019) “Africa Industrialization Week 2019 #AIW2019.” African Union. Retrieved from https://au.int/en/newsevents/20191118/africa-industrialization-week-2019-aiw2019
Balima, B. (2019, 07, 08) “Economic ‘game changer’? African leaders launch free-trade zone.” Reuters. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-africa-trade/economic-game-changer-african-leaders-launch-free-trade-zone-idUSKCN1U20BX
DW (2019, 07, 07) “African leaders launch landmark 55-nation trade zone.” DW. Retrieved from https://www.dw.com/en/african-leaders-launch-landmark-55-nation-trade-zone/a-49503393
Dzokpo, I. (2019, 11, 21) “4th Annual Meeting of African Economic Zones held in Addis Ababa.” News Ghana. Retrieved from https://newsghana.com.gh/4th-annual-meeting-of-african-economic-zones-held-in-addis-ababa/
Xinhua (2019, 11, 23) “Chinese engagement helps Africa’s industrialization: ITC executive director.” Xinhua Net. Retrieved from http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-11/21/c_138572929.htm