Africa in 2023: Economic and Geopolitical Outlook

Location: Madrid
By invitation

Africa is gaining global strategic importance as a demographic, commodity, and agriculture reservoir of the world. Whereas it has become conventional to refer to the great economic, social and cultural potential of the continent, every world crisis exposes Africa’s vulnerabilities and analysis often underlines strategic risks and threats coming from Africa rather than opportunities. The unsustainable debt levels of several African countries, the risk of famines and economic crisis as a consequence of the disruption of world economic flows, the recrudescence of conflicts in several regions of the continent, and the backlash of democracy in the wake of constitutional coups in several countries in the last couple of years are the most immediate challenges. Population movements, and more specifically migration and refugee flows, largely within Africa itself, reflect those pressures and require a more articulated migration governance architecture in the continent and beyond. In parallel, the continent has become the scenario for a crude geopolitical competition, with a mounting economic and financial presence of China, the recurrent interference of Russia and some other regional powers in some of the old and new conflicts, a re-engagement of the US and even Japan with recent aid packages and the struggle of Europe to keep its role as key economic and cooperation partner of the continent.

In this framework, the Elcano Royal Institute of International and Strategic Studies and the Policy Center for the New South organize this half-day seminar to exchange views and share their research and insights into the future of Africa and how these trends will play out, the opportunities and challenges ahead in 2023.