Saraki: Regional Cooperation, Partnership, Panacea to Africa’s Challenges

Senate President, Dr. A bub aka rB ukola Sara ki has identified regional cooperation and partnership as the only solutions to the myriad of challenges facing the African continent.

Saraki, in a statement by his Special Assistant on Public Affairs, Mohammed Isa, made this know nina keynote address at the opening session of the ongoing Crans Montana Forum of Africa and South South Cooperation for Africa’s Development holding at Dakhla, Morocco.

He noted that, “the contagious nature of poverty-driven social unrest would in effect suggest that the challenges that we face must be viewed from a regional perspective and the solutions located in greater regional cooperation and partnership.

“The challenges of cross-border crimes, the smuggling of small arms and light weapons across our borders, or even the wave of terrorist activities, provide another compelling reason why effective cooperation and partnership is almost a matter of life and death.

“The experience we have had with Al-Qaida in the Maghreb (AQIM) in Mali and the Boko Haram in Nigeria shows that se- cur it ya nd stability of our countries can only be guaranteed through a regional governance system which would make it impossible for terrorists and criminals to find a safe haven within any of our borders”, he added.

Many countries in Africa, Sara ki noted, have witnessed remarkable economic development in recent years, adding that ,“however, in the contextof overallglobal economy, this progress amounts to very little or nothing.”

“Africa’ s share of the global trade is only two percent and of this, only 11 percent is Africans trading with themselves. We have to reverse this trend. Unless we do, African success stories would continue to be undermined by other serious challenges like poverty, youth unemployment, high infrastructure deficit, and conflicts”, he stated.

He identified trust and genuine partnership as key factors in opening up the African continent to African businesses and people, adding “this is why I must commend the King of Morocco for the recent bilateral agreements with Nigeria in different areas, including the Bilateral Air Services Agreement; Marine Fisheries Cooperation; Diplomatic and Official Services Visa Exemption and many more.