Africa: Commercial Opportunities and Exports

Lord Bruce of Bennachie Excerpts

Thursday 12th September 2024 Grand Committee

[Lord Bruce of Bennachie (LD)]

My Lords, we should all be grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Popat, for initiating this timely debate. He indicated the opportunities but also the shortcomings that have preceded it. UK trade with Africa, like aid, has fallen sharply in recent years. It was 4% of UK trade in 2012-13 and fell to under 3% in 2022. In the last full year, trade was £10.3 billion, which was actually a reduction of 7.1% on the previous year, so things have been moving in the wrong direction.

I will make a link with the fact that aid has been drastically cut. I appreciate that we are focusing on trade, but the two are linked, because the relationships grow together. The cut in aid has had a very disruptive effect on our relationships with Africa. I am glad the previous Government started to restore the balance and I hope the new Government will follow that through and help us to cement new relationships. The cancellation of the UK investment summit was disappointing, particularly at a time when the World Bank was making a very big engagement with Africa.

The House of Lords International Relations and Defence Committee, of which I am currently a member, produced a report on Africa in 2020, which said:

“Successive governments have said that Africa should be given a higher priority across Whitehall, but have failed to make this a reality in the face of competing demands”.


The incoming Government have made a similar pledge, but how will it be different this time? It would be good to hear from the Minister.

There is a growing call from indebted countries for debt relief, which is related, because that would release funds that could be invested in the infrastructure that makes the business climate more conducive and more favourable. Can the Minister say anything about the Government’s intentions to negotiate debt relief, given that the UK underpins a substantial proportion of private investment to developing countries?

BII is investing in Africa, and I have noted recent announcements relating to the deep-water ports in Banana in the DRC, small business finance in Nigeria and sustainable energy generally. These are all worth while and are designed to open the way for more trade, but they are pretty small compared with the scale that will be required.

An interesting report from Malaria No More made the point that tackling malaria will have an economic benefit. One of the problems with Africa is that not only do countries there sometimes not have the skills but too many people are sick too often to be able to be productive workers, so tackling illness and disease and promoting good health is good economic policy as well.

Nevertheless, as the noble Lord, Lord Popat, has highlighted, not enough UK businesses seem to be interested enough in investing in Africa. Nobody denies that it is a challenging place to invest, but that is not a reason for moving out. For example, Africa has a huge need for pharmaceuticals. The UK is a major producer of pharmaceuticals. Why are we not investing more to help Africa, in partnership, produce pharmaceuticals and create a skills base for its own environment?

While our relationships were being disrupted, Russia and China moved in in a big way. They offer substantial sums of money with no questions asked, subvert democracy, sustain dictatorships and deal with minerals for their own benefit, while we stand back, relatively speaking, and do not engage.

This is a moment where we have to reset and not just talk the talk but walk the walk. I go right back to Tony Blair’s Africa commission, which produced a wonderful and inspiring report, but we still have not delivered on its vision. I hope the new Government recognise that trade, investment and diplomacy can go together, and when they do everybody will be better off.