During the ongoing Unstoppable Africa 2025 summit taking place in New York City, on the sidelines of the 80th UN General Assembly, numerous high-profile speakers said the US’ foreign policy is failing Africa, and China and Russia have been much better partners for the continent.
“Africa is the market of the future. One day, the US will need Africa more than we will need them…,” Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) said on stage.
The common emerging theme at this year’s UN Global Africa Business Initiative’s Unstoppable Africa conference is that African business leaders see far more value from countries like China, Russia, and India than the United States. This comes at a critical point as the United States has slapped the rest of the world with tariffs, with some countries such as Lesotho facing some of the steepest rates.
Jeffery Sachs, a renowned American economist, exposed US policy hypocrisy by stating, “All the [US] rhetoric about Africa is simply jealousy. What Africa needs is railroads, not theory.”
Numerous other speakers have called out the US and President Donald Trump for wanting blind loyalty from Africa rather than practical development and financing solutions for infrastructure. On the contrary, countries like China have announced the removal of tariffs from nearly every African country.
Part of the debate taking place on stage and in the halls of Unstoppable Africa is also coming down to the types of investments foreign nations are making in Africa – with one speaker citing how eastern nations such as China are offering far more favorable financing terms, with far more favorable amortization terms, for projects such as highways and railroads than western nations.
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