May on a mission to Africa
THERESA MAY will fly to Sub-saharan Africa today for the first time in a bid to “renew” a historic partnership with the continent and forge new trade links for post-brexit Britain.
The Prime Minister said the trip, which will include the first visit to Kenya by a British leader since the Eighties, represented a “unique opportunity” to foster new partnerships with Commonwealth nations and some of the world’s fastest-growing economies. Mrs May will also travel to South Africa and Nigeria, where she will be joined by British business leaders; George Hollingbery, the trade minister, and Harriett Baldwin, the minister for Africa.
Mrs May will give a keynote speech in Cape Town, setting out “ambitious” plans to increase British investment in the continent, which is expected to focus on technology, infrastructure and financial services. She will also present
President Cyril Ramaphosa with the Mendi bell, which was recovered last year from the wreck of the SS Mendi, a troopship that sank off the Isle of Wight in 1917, resulting in the deaths of more than 600 soldiers, the majority of them black South Africans.
A series of commercial deals will also be announced during the trip, which will build on the existing £31billion of British trade conducted with Africa annually.
The Government sees Africa as a key trading partner post-brexit. It is home to four of the world’s six fastest-growing economies, and its combined GDP is forecast to double to $5.6 trillion (£4.35trillion) over the next 10 years, according to the African Development Bank. Africa’s workforce is also expected to surpass China’s by 2035.
Last night Mrs May said the trip formed part of her Government’s wider vision for close trade ties with the developing world after Britain leaves the European Union.
She added: “Africa stands right on the cusp of playing a transformative role in the global economy, and as longstanding partners this trip is a unique opportunity at a unique time for the UK to set out our ambition to work even closer together.
“A more prosperous, growing and trading Africa is in all of our interests and its incredible potential will only be realised through a concerted partnership between governments, global institutions and business.”
Later in the week, Mrs May will hold talks with President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria and President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya. The visit comes as Atiku Abubakar, a Nigerian presidential candidate, claimed Brexit “can be a force for good” by helping to “blow down barriers” to Anglo-african trade.