Africa must occupy a much more important place in world organisations. This has been one of Macky Sall‘s struggles since he took over the AU. Yesterday, at the World Government Summit in Dubai, he said that Africa must be judged on what it does and not on the perception people have of the continent. In his last outing as the current chairperson of the African Union (AU), Macky Sall has again called for more consideration for the continent.
Mr. Sall, who took part yesterday in the 10th Summit of World Governments in Dubai, believes that Africa should be judged on what the continent “does and not on what they think it does”. And the Head of State continued: “It is a problem of perception that is difficult to remove from people’s heads. For four centuries, Africa has suffered a lot and today, despite its efforts, there are many factors that block its take-off, while Africa has the potential with its 30 million km2 of surface area, 65% of the world’s arable land on the continent, its rivers, the workforce, it is possible to develop capital that grows for the benefit of investors and the continent. »
In the same vein, he called for a change in perception. According to Mr Sall, « The risk is not greater in Africa than elsewhere ». What makes it worse, he stressed, « is the rating. Africa pays its debts, respects its commitments. As he has done on several occasions, Mr Sall insisted on reforms in organisations like the UN. On this subject, he said: « Global governance is not fair. Two thirds of the members of the UN were not independent when the organisation was born. A whole continent is absent from the Security Council. We are fighting the same battle at the World Bank and the IMF. On the G20, the Senegalese leader maintains that the fight is won.
Regarding the war in Ukraine, Macky Sall deplores the fact that « people are dwelling on our positions ». For him, « Africa does not have to fall in line ». He added: « We are working with all parties for peace, because we are also victims of this war. I went to Sochi to talk to Putin, who made commitments that he respected, because a month later, the seeds came out through the Black Sea. We are continuing our mediation efforts. » The issue of food self-sufficiency was also addressed by President Sall. He assured that « Africa is organising itself to be self-sufficient in food in five years ».
