 Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the panel discussion dedicated to Africa and in the global context. But particularly touching on its relationship to Asian countries as well as international security issues. Let me welcome Mr. Yusef Amrani, the Boundless Linda Choker, Mrs. Nathalie de la Palme, Mrs. Elizabeth Gigu and Mrs. Wu Jiaming. Nowadays, conversations about Africa don't tend any longer to simply vilifying it as hopeless, but instead highly praise its economic prowess and golden business opportunities. African countries are experiencing a paradigm shift away from a paternalistic kind of fornate with Africans merely perceived as passive recipients into a development model based on a downright market economy through trade and investments. As a result, foreign countries are no longer gatekeepers but are called upon to become partners on a win-win basis. As a matter of fact, the figures are impressive. I will share only three sets with you. First, demographics. By the middle of this century, Africa is expected to be home of two billion inhabitants, which leads to another interesting figure. By 2050, 80% of the world's population will live in Asia and Africa, 80%. We have a tiny difference though. Three-quarter of those with a middle income will dwell in Asia, not in Africa. And the second point is like a mantra, you hear it everywhere. If you believe in statistics, seven out of 10 fastest growing economies are in Africa. We've growth rates up to 7% a year. And third point as an example only, mobile phones penetration is evaluated at 70%. And this carries maybe more real meaning because it has a significant impact on education, agriculture, health and etc. So whatever we think of statistics, the truth is that technology is changing the face of Africa. Visiting Nairobi, Kenya for instance, we see massive infrastructure project over there last week. They are Asian, China construction companies building roads and power plants. Many African businesses are coming online every day. There is an emerging middle class which will form a bedrock of consumption in multiple African economies going forward. Overall, the future belongs to Africa, especially with improved governance. Now, the strong parallel and blossoming relationship between the African and Asian continents have frequently been highlighted. The recent boom in investment and trade between these continents epitomizes the explosion of South-South trade driven by the burgeoning middle class in Asia's emerging economic giants whose appetite for Africa's commodities is growing. Similarly, rising economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa has also increased the demand for Asian manufactured goods. So alongside China, India and Malaysia, South Korea has also become a major player. The government together with the African Union has hosted the third Korean African forum two years ago with some 400 participants. 140 delegates from Africa including late President Michael Sata of Zambia. They were coming from 18 countries. They adopted the Seoul Declaration in 2012 and the Action Plan 2013-2015. And the next forum will take place next year. And the topics where some of the topics we will touch on today, trade investment, peace and security and development. Korea has actively stepped up its presence and has now more or less 30 embassies in Africa. So besides renowned global brands like Samsung and Kia, Korea enjoys well established traditional international diplomacy. No need to mention Ban Ki-moon as an African who followed closely post electoral conflict in Côte d'Ivoire. I would like to pay a tribute to Choi Young-jin who was here this morning because he helped settle a very tricky case in Côte d'Ivoire and it took him a lot of courage. So it takes a lot of courage to deal with Africa and I'm glad now to give the floor to an imminent figure of China international relations. Mr. Wu Jiangmin is Executive Vice Chairman of China Institute for Innovation and Development Strategy, a member of the Foreign Policy Advisory Committee of the Chinese Foreign Ministry and he was Ambassador in France. So the question is, China's industrialization unfolding at an unprecedented speed is driving a ravenous demand for raw materials and new markets in Africa. What makes the China Africa story remarkable is that for the first time since the end of colonial rule, a major power sees Africa not as a charity case and a landscape of endless need but as an exceptional strategic and business opportunity. Has China coked onto something that eludes so many governments and companies in the West? Thank you, thank you Mary Roget for giving me the floor. I think before I come to your question I need to make three brief points. When Africa is rising, it's good news. The rise of Africa is part of the rise of quite a few developing countries. I think the rise of a large number of developing countries, this is one of the most important changes in the world today that will change global landscape. Look at Asia, look at Africa, look at Latin America. There are quite a few developing countries which are rising. It's very good news. You know last year, according to the IMF statistics, developing world GDP in PPP terms overtakes for the first time developed world. I believe this is a turning point, quite significant against this backdrop. Last year, Africa's GDP in monetary terms exceeded 2 trillion US dollars. Rise of Africa is good news for everybody. I think rise of Africa does not occur in an isolated way. This is part of the change of the world. This is my first point. My second point is, after all, Asian solidarity is playing an important role in Africa's rise. You know, if we look back past half a century, we realize the Afro-Asian solidarity played a very important role in giving a strong push to the movement of national independence and national liberation. We will all remember, in 1955 in Bandung, Indonesia, we had the first Afro-Asian Bandung Conference. Premier Julianne was there. This conference was very successful. That conference gave a strong push to the movement for national independence and liberation. In 1955, the membership of the United Nations amounted only 76. Today, 193. A lot of countries exceeded independence after months. Today, in an interesting phenomenon, Asia is rising. Asia has been rising through five waves. First wave, Japan, after the Second World War. Japan was first to rise. Second wave, last, I mean early 1960s, four Asian tigers start their rising, means Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Korea. Third wave, in 1970s, Asian countries mean follow-suit. Fourth wave, in 1978, China follow-suit. Fifth wave, 1991, India started economic reform. When China, India joined this Asian rising tide, that increased tremendously the momentum and the scope of Asian rise. Look at Africa today. Last year, 10 fastest growing countries in the world. Seven come from Africa. This is very good news. I think Asia's rising, Africa's rising, let's help each other. You mentioned quite interesting figures a few minutes ago. You see Asian countries have been very active in the Asia, Africa's rise. I think in the 21st century, Afro-Asian solidarity will play a very important role. I'm coming to the last point, China-Africa cooperation. You know, if you look at past 50 years, at the beginning, the trade volume between China and Africa was very small. In 1960, China-Africa trade amounted to $100 million. It takes us 18 years. In 1980, we reached $1 billion. From 1980, it took us 20 years to reach $10 billion in the year 2000, trade between China and Africa reached $10 billion. But in the new century, very strong development. Last year, trade between China and Africa amounted to $210 billion. Why China-Africa cooperation has been growing so fast? Three factors. One, Chinese-Africans, we treat each other on equal footing. Two, we trust each other. You know, in 1970, China, together with Tanzania, Zambia, we built railway. We spend how much? 115 million pounds. Because at that time, we refused to use the dollar. We used British pounds. Means what? More than a third, China foreign currency reserves. We believe that China-Africa, we have to help each other. China was restored in her lawful rights at the United Nations in 1971. Thanks to the African and other countries' support, we were deeply moved by African solidarity. So today, I believe China-African cooperation is on the eve of major development. My Prime Minister went to Africa last May. He said, in 2020, we believe trade between China and Africa will reach $400 billion. At this stage, the Chinese investment in Africa is about $25 billion. We believe maybe in 2020, the number will reach $100 billion. Why so fast? Because China-African cooperation is based on the mutual benefit. Economy of Africa, economy of China are highly complementary. We need each other. Africa is so rich in resources. China is a resourceful country. You mentioned the question of the Chinese go there. They don't use African labor. This is a problem. We know it. We are changing. Three years ago, the chief economist of World Bank, Mr. Justin Lin, went to Ethiopia. He talked to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia. He said, what do you need? It's not high-tech. You need to develop labor-intensive projects. And he agreed. Later on, he went to China, went to Guangdong province. He met with the party secretary, Wang Yang, today his vice premier. He said, can you recommend to me some labor-intensive company? Then Wang Yang recommended a shoe-making factory. This is a private company, very dynamic. The chairman and the CEO of this company went to Ethiopia in October 2011. Then he brought back 80 Ethiopians for training. Then two factories started operating. January 2012, now employ 3,500 people. The export shoes to US. I think this is one of the largest export companies based in Ethiopia. China and Africa need each other. I think China and Africa cooperation is not exclusive, but inclusive. Africa needs everybody. When I was the Chinese ambassador to France, I got explicit instructions from my government. Try three-way cooperation. China, France, Africa. I think we succeed in some extent. We can do more. Africa needs infrastructure. My Prime Minister suggests three things. Three connectivity. High-speed rail. Highway and by-air. In Africa, if you go between African countries, by-air is very difficult. You have to go back to Paris, go back to London. If Africa can develop connectivity by-air, that will be wonderful for everybody. Thank you. Okay, thank you. I'm sorry, but time is short and we still have four personalities to speak with. Thank you, Mr. Professor Wu Jiangming. You stress solidarity, a long-standing solidarity between the two rising stars, African and Asian. And you mentioned trust. So let me turn to Baroness Linda Choker, who's been living in Africa, being very active, based in the UK, but I think with a home in South Africa and also being a honorary citizen in Mozambique. You used to be your Founder and Chairman of Africa Matters Limited, which is a commercial company, not an NGO. And between 1986 and 97, you were Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Your resume is very long. Let me shut it down. So how can you describe the business climate as you've been around in Africa and as a European? Do you feel the trust Professor Wu Jiangming is mentioning, is pointing out towards Chinese involvement between Africans and China in Africa? Indeed I do. After over 30 years' involvement in Africa, I've learned a lot, but it's not only Chinese involvement, and I want to turn to some of the others as well, because as I go about my business, Africans want trade. They want trade rather than development assistance, although they still need that for training and technical reasons. But I think the most important thing is this. Asia, in terms of foreign direct investment, has made an enormous change in the last 10 years. There's no question about that. The Asian flows were 6.7% in FDI in 95-99. Then you look at 2000, 2008, it had gone up to 15.2%. So Asian flows, investment flows into Africa have gone up and up and even further since 2008. And this growing involvement by Asia in Africa is to me very worthwhile, because it's investment of a number of different things, but particularly into the smaller items that you don't hear so much about, rural roads without which agricultural produce will never reach its market. It's investment in housing, because there is a huge movement of people from the countryside to the cities. And cities are the fastest growing area in any country in Africa as well as in the developed world. There is also an increasing demand for technology. And the mobile phones and the use of mobile phones for transferring money has just shown in Africa what can be done to change the way in which they work. But that huge need for training and technical training particularly, I always say when people talk to me about a build, operate and transfer project in infrastructure, no, you're missing a T. It's build, operate, train and transfer, because without the training the African countries will not learn anything like as much and not be able to be as efficient. Korea has expanded her work and you said already, moderator, some of the things I was going to say, but out of that 2012 Korea Africa forum there were five areas which were highlighted as expansion. The program for infrastructure development, the comprehensive African agricultural development program, the industrial development program in Africa, the pharmaceutical manufacturing and the inter-African trade. And that is just part of Korea's contribution which is growing all the time, particularly in technology. Japan we all know has done a great deal and I was one of the persons involved in the very first Tokyo investment conference on aid and development with Mrs. Ogata. Since those days we get an incredibly different attitude about training and in fact I'm working with the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to help establish some routes which they're not just doing alone. India is also working in partnership with Japan to establish routes in Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Japanese companies are cooperating a great deal now in India. They're taking for instance the Suzuki Motor Company into Africa and there are a whole series of others I could mention. The very fact that they've added to the frequency of the African leadership conferences it's all trying to push whether it be an oil, gas, metals, whatever and that is particularly happening in Mozambique. India is working very hard on pushing their technology and their ability to train people and Ambassador Wu mentioned the example in Ethiopia of training which I've also seen in operation. India is doing a number of similar things to that. So we're beginning to see a real combination of experience being shared from Asia into Africa and with third countries too. And of course China above all and I don't want to repeat anything that Ambassador Wu has said but I do find now that we've passed a bit of a watershed in China's involvement in Africa. In the beginning it was very often the Africa funds supporting Chinese companies to invest. It was the Exim Bank with trade export credits and guarantees. It was the development bank giving non-concessional finance. But now it's a much bigger sharing of knowledge with Africans for development in their own countries and I think that is much to be welcomed. We still face many challenges and I'm sure that Natalie will speak about some of them. I don't want to steal her thunder but I must say that we are getting gradually on top of some of the problems of corruption. It's very interesting that in Nigeria for instance we now have a private sector anti-corruption system because the philosophy which I have held since the days of helping to form transparency international is that you have to get the private sector behaving itself transparently and honestly if you're ever to get the government sector in these countries behaving transparently and honestly. And so one of the things that we do in our work taking investment into Africa is always to insist on high levels of transparency and also where we have doubts about investors. We don't keep quiet about them. I'm afraid we make those doubts first to the people concerned but also to the would be investor so that money does not go down the drain. Thank you. Thank you. This leads straight to the issue of governance and I'm glad to welcome Natalie de la Palme who is Executive Director and Research and Policy at Moibraim Foundation. So Natalie when you listen to this do you think governance is the number one issue in which the Moibraim Foundation has been pointing out all the time or you feel like well we can live with corruption a little bit. I certainly wouldn't say that we can live with corruption anyway but maybe what I can do is tell you what are the main conclusions of the annual report the Ibrahim Index on African Governance. As you may know but very quickly this Ibrahim Index which has been created in 2006 is an annual assessment of the state of governance in every 54 African countries to the exception of the two Sudanese since the partition because we don't have available data enough to do it properly. So this index is 95 indicators coming from 30 different sources ranging from World Bank to Berthelsman-Stiftung, Reporters en Frontière, Vogue africaine de développement and we built the index with the Kennedy School of Governance of Harvard University at the beginning. It's not only corruption, democracy or human rights it's defined broadly as a basket of public goods and services that any government of the 21st century is due to deliver to its citizens. So these 95 indicators are organized under four categories which are safety and will of law, participation in human rights, human development and sustainable economic opportunity. Basically it's a dashboard that allows anybody be the African governments, the partners of these governments, civil societies or more and more broadly the private sector to have a look at the state of governance in these African countries. Now what do our last index that has been published in October tell us about the state of governance in Africa? Globally the picture is rather positive. If we look at the global score of governance at continental level it still continues to progress even if it is at a lesser stance during the last five years, 29, 2013, than the five years before, 2003, 2009. Second point is that this global picture masks a very large variety of situations and that the scope between country, between sub-region and within sub-region is broadening. The third point is that some countries that had been following a negative trend for the last years have remarkably reversed this trend. I'm talking for example about Côte d'Ivoire, Niger and Guinea which gives hope of things happening. The fourth interesting point is that if for the year 29, 2013, oh sorry, for the year 25, 29 the main driver of this governance progress has been the sustainable economic opportunity category. This has changed and sustainable economic opportunity category is slightly weakening and this is interesting to note. The driver of the progress of the last five years period is participation in human rights, mainly driven by very good results in participation. Now here let me stop a little bit because the indicators we have, the indicators that are available to measure democratic participation are basically elections which probably doesn't picture completely, I would say, the democratic state of African countries. This is a point that we see because in other indicators we also see a rise in domestic unrest which is probably linked to some dissatisfaction about the results of this election and the way democracy works only with election. In the sustainable economic opportunity category this slight weakening of the results is probably due to two fundamental weakness of this Africa rising that everybody is talking about which is that this growth, economic growth is rather jobless or as Ambassador would say not labor intensive enough which is a real issue in a continent where the majority of people are under 25 and looking for jobs and second that this economic growth is leading to widening inequalities and this is really an issue that needs to be tackled and needs to be looked on quite strongly. Two indicators are doing not very well in the sustainable economic opportunity category, public management, especially the fiscal policy indicators and the second indicator which is interesting in these times of weakening commodity prices it's economic diversification. Now the human development category of course is going well as usual and the fourth category which is safety and water flow this category from the beginning has not shown very satisfactory results. Now this is due to the following facts even if we see a lessening of regional conflicts of border tensions we have the apparition of twin tensions first one are transversal with the rise of course of terrorism and the rise of transversal criminality such as drugs, fake medicines, cyber criminality which needs to be watched carefully and the second one is these domestic tensions which are arising due again to what we were talking about just before which is this rise in inequalities and this jobless growth that leaves the young people of Africa rather angry. Hungry and angry. So basically when people are talking about stability this stability doesn't fit with these young people that are mainly waiting for job and for change in politics. I'm saying all this because I think that this I mean there is no doubt about the Africa rising narrative but still I think that economy is not the only I would say measurement of this Africa rising narrative that we should be careful not to be overly after optimism that we should be careful to take into account the rise of this early warning signs that are insecurity, domestic unrest, inequalities, jobless growth and that we also should be aware that we should probably stop talking about Africa as a whole because it's 54 different countries that are still a long way to integration. Thank you. So let's now speak about security. And I will turn to Youssef Amrani who is charged a mission at the Royal Cabinet Morocco, former ambassador. So I will make the question very short. Boko Haram, Al-Qaeda, terror in Al-Shabaab this is brand names of terror in Africa. What is your take on the situation first and what needs to be done? Thank you very much for inviting me here. Let me first say that I don't see a dialogue only on security in Africa. There are other dimensions, there are essentials and we could not dissociate security with economic development. Today, let me say at the beginning, everybody is interested in Africa. Sometimes we get confused because there is a lack of coherence. There is the China-Africa dialogue, Korea-Africa, India-Africa, no Turkey, the joint action EU-Africa since the Brussels summit and the last one was in Washington in August between USA and Africa. France has also a summit. France, they have another dialogue but now it is in the Francophonie but I said EU as a whole in dialogue with Africa. So sometimes I said as African partners we are lost. We need this dialogue, it's important, we need this kind of solidarity but we need some coherence in the action towards Africa. Sometimes we feel that our partners, I think it's not true, are only interested in the resources of Africa. But I believe that today we need a comprehensive and holistic approach as far to deal with Africa. Security, yes, security is important but it's not the only way how to face the challenges. I know today I'm not special on security but security today represents a real threat in Africa. Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb, Boko Haram, Ansar-Din, Al-Shaba, all this kind of ideologies movement that are harming the development of Africa. And still, we still haven't the necessary tools to face these kind of challenges. Yes, thanks to the French intervention and within the Security Council and up on the demand of the Malian government we were able to fight terror in Mali but we were not able to chase Al-Qaeda because the Al-Qaeda is in Libya and elsewhere. No, I will make one point. We have to have a real policy towards terrorist movement in Africa because if we don't act through the appropriate tools, through trust, through a real political will we will have the same chaotic situation in the Arab world especially with the resurgence of the Daesh and the Fahsh movement because Boko Haram can turn Al-Qaeda also and this I think it's a major security threat. No, it's good to have security cooperation cooperation in the field of intelligence, yes to send peacekeeping force to solve the conflicts but if we don't have peacebuilding strategy we cannot face this kind of strategies. You see, there are almost eight missions of peacekeeping in Africa today but, you know, a lot of difficulties and we didn't solve the problem. So, to face these challenges we need cooperation. We need access to markets. I will briefly, you know, just outline the major concerns. We need also, as Africans, to do our own homework as far as regional integration, as far as good governance, accountability and implementing a democracy in our countries. There's something we need to do but also we need to do it respected also this is important, the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of countries because today the major issues and problems facing Africa is through the borders and this is, of course, we need to have a concrete and holistic approach and we need also to have tools. Natalie was talking about tools and today here I would just give an example how we were able to face a major security threat with different approach. There's two more people in this room Miguel Angel Moretinos and Natalie de la Pan. When we were able to transform a migratory crisis in the region through a comprehensive and a partnership which gathers all the countries of transit like Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia the countries of the state of migration like Europe and the countries of origin because we said that we cannot solve these issues Miguel Angel through only foreign text or we need to have something that we cook together and the importance was given to development. One issue also I want to make in fighting security and terrorist threat and that Morocco today is doing is South-South cooperation. We need to and we had a very successful story stories in investing in Africa but also if we have time we can talk about this one dimension which is essential today in Morocco and what we are doing is what we call the spiritual and the cultural dimension to be able to face all these extremists when we are now training the imams because Islam in any case is a tolerant religion Islam is present in Africa and only through radicalization and the promotion of the real values Islam which is tolerant based on solidarity at the end of the day is on shared values that we work this is the way how we are training now the imams and this I think is one of the major tools at the end of the day and I will summarize what is important and what is a priority for us is how to create jobs how to promote growth in the continent Africa with a lot of expectations with a lot of resources human and natural resources maybe we are lacking something but what is important is to create jobs and to promote growth and today Africa has changed Africa is not anymore an exporter of raw materials Africa now has a middle class it still is but we have another assets today we have a middle class we are people who are consuming and we have an ambition to work in partnership and to create growth of course we need to face all of our challenges security others Ebola and so on but I think today what I can say what we need is more cooperation and we need to do our own home work as far as regional integration which is now do the in equal as Pascal Lamy was saying if it is working today very well East Africa maybe at the level at the level of Western Africa and the Margaret is not working for many reasons but we need to have a clear vision and I was impressed this morning by the presence of Korea when she insisted on trust on the role of private sector and this is exactly the Moroccan vision we need trust in our project but we also need to involve the private sector in investing in the region and in creating jobs and then hope and to fulfill our ambitions Thank you Ambassador Mamrani now last not least Madame Elisabeth Yigu you are a French parliament member and a former minister several times minister you are probably aware that for outsiders France appears as the Africa specialist sort of a godfather and even more than Britain which was equally a colonial country a sort of so when President Hollande is called for help by African countries like Mali Niger and all this and had his great pains to get the Europeans to be involved what does it imply to you do you think there are better ways to get them implicated in the process It's a very important question and I will answer certainly in a minute but I just want first to say how happy I am to participate in a round table where there is a majority of women Yes It's a welcome improvement dear Thierry from what we've seen earlier in the day and I hope we will continue in this way I will shift to French First it was essential and very important and urgent that France intervened militarily in Mali because it was a question of time because if there hadn't been these air strikes and these military strikes on the column of jihadists who threatened to take Bamako, the capital we would have today an Islamic state in the center of Africa so what is obviously very important is to also say that and if we intervened in the center of Africa and to avoid a genocide there too it was an urgent question but we must also say that never a military intervention was born the solution obviously it is only an urgent intervention and that the real solution is always political and it belongs first of all to the government and to the inhabitants of the concerned countries so all this to frame things and when I say that the solution is political it obviously includes the question of development I will come back to it in a moment so now was there enough support from European countries in these interventions I don't find it abnormal that France first intervened because it has such links with these countries from West Africa certainly today which fortunately is revolving that of colonialism and it is also true that in Mali for example the European force which forms the Malian army it is not nothing on the contrary it has achieved results but it is true that there is a disproportion so I think that Europe needs to be more aware that its security is in play with what is happening in the Sahel and I hope that as long as this awareness it begins it is still insufficient in our eyes but I hope that as long as this awareness will increase we will have more implications when necessary and above all forms of help to the bottom of Europe to Africa I think there needs to be a new European strategy that has lived in the countries of South Africa and that is what I would like to insist on because it is true I am very happy that there is another way much more positive we have had testimonies with the President's interventions that are on Africa because obviously there is a great potential and that we are many to believe and to hope that Africa is the emerging continent of the 21st century and by the way, there are young people from the emerging countries in North Africa, fortunately dear Yosef Amrani but at the same time we must not close our eyes on reality I think that Nathalie was right to highlight briefly I think that the main problem is that of development it is the employment of young people so the unemployment of young people is a cancer it is first a moral scandal because we sacrifice generations then it is socially dangerous very dangerous it is the terror of all extremism and then it is an economic aberration obviously so we find this challenge we find it in Europe you know, we did not get along we work with 25% of young people but finally in Africa it is much more important I think it is a challenge for all African countries after what I can see so that is the major question of development it seems to me that to fill the gap that exists between the potential development of Africa which is phenomenal I will not repeat everything that was said and the real development which is still insufficient to fill this gap I think there are efforts to do both in Africa and in Europe because we are the main neighbor so in Africa it seems to me the two main issues the two challenges to be raised are this of governance that was mentioned I think it is a very frankly as long as there is no security of investments as long as there is no state of law of any kind I do not even speak of human rights as long as we are not interested in more and we will not put the means to develop not only education in the countries that have been made but also in Tunisia one of the reasons of the success of Tunisia that remains to be consolidated is this education of young women for a very long time but education but also health if in three countries Ebola could develop like this it is because there is no health structure a doctor for 100,000 inhabitants or Liberia it is just not possible in the 21st century so health education of course human development simply the fact that is a problem of governance and I think that the criteria that Natalie mentioned earlier are obviously very interesting you have to continue to work on it the second challenge seems to me is that there needs to be an intra-regional cooperation in Africa it is not Yusef Amrani who is going to lie to me when I say that the cost of the name Maghreb is still something that is still a closed border between Algeria and Morocco it is just an aberrant we have deciphered the losses of growth each year so we know why it is the Sahara we had to overcome that fortunately civil societies still know each other but it is also true that the regional cooperation within Africa it exists there are institutions that work but I think we could I think we could do better on the European side I really think we have to change the view and change the strategy I think we need to take conscience in Europe that we have with Africa complementarities that are a great wealth we are an old continent they are young we still have a technological advance it will not last forever we have to be ready to share it because we need raw materials that are in Africa there are absolutely great complementarities we are lucky to have an African diaspora and a European diaspora so in my opinion we could do a lot more with that and then we have challenges to overcome when we look at the question of growth potential for growth is great in Europe I was talking about the youth unemployment there is a moment and security of course it is a challenge that we have to overcome together but also the climate there is no continent more threatened by desertification and who already know water wars for a very long time climate refugees the war of the south is still mainly that so we have and ourselves we have started to take conscience I think we all have to do it together and that means how to do it I think we really need a partnership Madame he is going to turn the back to colonialism or neo-colonialism but to establish a real partnership between European and African I am talking about Europeans because it is what I know around a concept that starts to emerge which is a co-production concept which means that yes of course we do trade but beyond that we have to add value because the added value today we know fractioned we produce a little everywhere so we have to do that as by the way and here we could take for example on Asian countries who have succeeded very well in doing that or even on Germany with European Central and Eastern countries so I think we have all the reasons what does not mean that we move away from multilateral agreements I think it is very I think it is very complementary and that for that we have to consider the countries of the South of the Mediterranean as a link as a pivot between Europe and the Sub-Saharan Africa what you said earlier Morocco turns towards South Africa and the West for all kinds of reasons reasons first of the old dynastic link the trip of the King of Morocco Mali was triumphant also because the requirements of development security requirements but look at Algeria making a useful mediation with the Mali with the rules of the Normali but also in Libya because Libya I hope we will talk a little in the exchanges it is still the major concern of all those who are interested in security in Africa because it is a trap of all sorts of drugs, weapons an open air arsenal that no one controls and even Tunisia can play an important role because Tunisia has an intimacy that can help Bernardino Leone in his work of mediation that he does in the name of the United Nations to try to approach the two governments and the two Libyan parliaments so I think we need in Europe to rethink our policy as we say of neighbors and development I would like to rather than to cut neighbors and width because we were neighbors we were neighbors from the east or from the south but we think of a new neighbor and of new ways of development centered around this partnership this vertical European and African once again that is not exclusive of links for Africa with other powers it is normal and by the way it will stimulate us to diversify our way of doing in Africa as Africa must diversify of course its economic development Thank you very much Mrs. Guigou you are also well made to talk about climate and climate change that also affect the relations between the countries of the north and the African countries it is also to remember that the problem of closure of the borders is not the exclusivity of Korea and where we are here I don't know how long we have for how much time do we have for debate or should I ok soon you first Annette Thank you I am Landry Signier from the Global Network for Africa Prosperity and I started a class at Stanford and I did emerging Africa so where I identify opportunity in different region and I teach to students how to seize these opportunities and transform them into results so this was a really fantastic panel with a broad range of experiences so thank you very much for organizing this panel I will have a comment but also a question so first perhaps one aspect which was overall is related to the Millennium Development Goals and the post-2015 agenda Africa is the only continent which has not successfully implemented the Millennium Development Goals as the other continent and as we are shifting toward the post-2015 development agenda the policy options that you may recommend in order to reach a successful implementation of that agenda so the second point also one of the causes of failure of the enriching numerous previous development programs is the inability to mobilize enough financial resources for the new partnership for Africa Development for example which was created in 2001 64 billion were expected per say average growth of a average GDP growth of 7% per year successfully implemented goal so when we hear about the problems identified by the Economist in 1999-2000 in an article entitled hopeless Africa so beyond the good will how to really successfully implement the right policies in Africa okay to whom are you asking your question do you have a question? I think it's a broad question Minister Gigo and Delpham will probably be the most relevant people okay Madame Gigo you want to touch a bit? okay I think you were saying that the the the the the the the the the the the the the for now it's general, but they announced their will to participate and to announce at the beginning of next year in view of the conference in Paris, to make concrete announcements. So obviously that would be very important, because the main effort must come from very developed countries where we already see emerging. I don't put the United States and China exactly on the same plane, of course, but the second thing is to take care of the help given to countries that haven't yet arrived at the development stage and who legitimately want to be helped in this effort. Here we already have for the green fund, after the impulsion given to the conference of the United Nations in New York on 23 September, France announced a billion euros, Germany also, now we have the 10 billion that we were set as objectives. Finally, there are countries that can still do more. I hope, for example, that, since it's Mrs. Michael Jean, who is Canadian, who is president of the Francophonie organization, I hope that Canada will do a little more than the 200, 300 million that have been announced. That's why she was elected. How? That's why she was elected, I think. I don't know, but I don't know, I think that if the African countries agreed, and it's a shame that Mr. Compaore, excuse me, has left. But the African countries have been supported a lot, Mrs. Michael Jean. Anyway, that's for the climate, for the development. I think we already said a lot of things. There is no Medmirac, it's a set of measures that must be taken by the Africans themselves, by each country, because each country is specific. I think we must also stop looking at Africa too globally. Each country has its specificities, its challenges to raise, and then there are development levels. There is nothing common between the Senegal-La Côte d'Ivoire on the one hand and the Central Africa on the other. It seems that it's over, so I wanted to give each one a minute. Okay, so here we go. I'm going to try on both sides. I would like to thank you, but I think that the debate was extremely interesting. We felt through the intervenants that there were several approaches, but that we began to see the end of the tunnel, that is to say a vision that began to climb on the notion of partnership. We saw China, which achieved extremely interesting successes and made a choice of structuring investments. We must remember that there was an African initiative, which is the one of the NEPAD, that is to say a global plan where infrastructures and development assets must be privileged, and it is a contests that gave results. And then, we felt some changes in the different European approaches, especially the one of France, the Great Britain, to mention that these two countries began to envision the different approaches. So, the first conclusion, perhaps in common, is that this type of debate that concerns Africa, concerns all regions of the world and the problem of international relations. What Mrs. Gigu mentioned earlier, is this political approach in the regulation of litigies in international relations. That is to say, instead of privileges, because at some point, remember that it flourished, the interference, the ideology of political interference and others. And now we come to the political treatment, knowing that it may have catastrophic effects to be envisaged right away. And why does the Sahel show us a little of everything we have seen? We may need to remember two or three elements that I would allow me to do. If I may, very briefly. I think it's really over. I wanted to take the gentleman whom I promised to give the floor. I will be very brief. I am brief, then. As brief as the intervention, I will take the same measure as the one that... So, we are bad. We are bad, Bahrain. It was too long. Look very quickly at the Sahel, the Mali. I have been working for a long time, 30, 40 years of family... 30, 40 years of terrible family. And it is now that we begin to envisage the solutions in a different way. And therefore, the second element, a figure, the United States, when they envisage their strategic depth, they put 21% to 22% of their investment capacity in their strategic depth, that is, in Latin America. Japan, in its sphere, puts 26%. Europe puts 2%. And therefore, it is extremely interesting that the debate now is becoming more and more useful. And that is the reason for my intervention, with the interruption of our president. I am sorry. But sir, you are the last one. Mr. Ambassador, what is the current concrete contribution of China to the resolution of conflicts beyond trade and your support in the French initiative of the United Nations? Mr. Ambassador, is there currently in the Royal Cabinet a reflection on the return of Morocco to the African Union? Well, a very clear question. Mr. Ambassador, if you can make it very short, otherwise they will kill me. Please. I will be dead by the end of the session. Please. The contribution of China to the resolution of conflicts is mostly translated by the sending of the forces to maintain peace. We have among the five permanent members of the Security Council. In terms of the sending of troops, China occupies the first place. And then, since China is in good terms with all African countries, we do our best to persuade the countries in conflict to reach a diplomatic solution. This is the case between the two of them. China has played the necessary role. Of course, we are not the only ones at the side. The others are also. In my opinion, the continent is rising in power. It is a good news for everyone. So, if there are conflicts, it is necessary that everyone contributes to the solution. And China does its part. Maybe in the future, we will be able to do more. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Ambassador. Quickly. So, for Morocco, in any case, Africa is a priority in foreign policy. We are the second investor in Africa after South Africa. We are, as I would say, the most important contributor in terms of force to maintain peace in Africa, in the US, isn't it? And for us, Africa has a particular importance. So, concerning the return of Morocco to North Africa, it is not always for the reasons that you know and that I do not want to address here. Thank you. No, 30 seconds. One, I want to respond to my colleague from Africa who insisted on the financial tools. Yes, you are right. Without appropriate financial tools, we cannot face development in Africa. We need these tools. And that's why Morocco today is hosting a very important fund called Africa Fund 50, which is one of the most important influence and which will help Africa. Third, quickly. Thank you, Isabelle, for saving the question of European neighbors. I think that today, we absolutely need to revisit it, when we find the appropriate tools. You have also talked about neighbors, as well as widening, although the southern European countries do not have the perspective of European countries as the European countries. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. It's very fast. Bonus, Joker? I just want to fill in very quickly on the first questioner who talked about the difficulty of getting enough funds for investment. Before you will ever be satisfied with enough funds, you've got to remove the obstacles to investment. That's what the Investment Climate Facility for Africa is doing. And I would encourage you to look at them. They are a PPP doing a great deal of work. The other thing I would say with this is regional cooperation and getting rid of these border problems, because one of the things that really constrains African trade and African prosperity is not actually trading with one's neighbor. It's not only peace. It's also some pretty awful situations on borders and indeed with some of the administration. Remove the barriers and the investment goes up. And I can tell you that for many different countries, not now. Okay. Thank you, Baroness. And thank you for this fascinating panel with very exciting panelists. You know, of course we are a little bit beyond of schedule, but I think it was worth letting people finish the talks. So thank you, Ambassador Youssef Amrani, Baroness Choka, Natalie de la Palme, Elizabeth Gigu and Mr. Professor Wu Chiangming. Now. Thank you.