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Former Senate President, Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has called for Africa to move beyond dependence on foreign aid and embrace strategic global partnerships driven by trade, investment, industrialisation and stronger institutions as the continent positions itself in a changing global order.
In a press statement signed by Yusuph Olaniyonu, Head of the Abubakar Bukola Saraki Media Office, and made available to Daily Sun on Sunday, Saraki confirmed his arrival in Lake Como, Italy, where he will join global leaders, policymakers, scholars and strategic thinkers at an international experts’ workshop organised by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS). The conference, themed “Big Daddy Gone? Global Partnerships Without U.S. Leadership,” will run from June 29 to July 1.
Speaking ahead of his participation, Saraki said the evolving global political landscape presents Africa with an opportunity to redefine its relationship with the rest of the world.
“This is a question that will define the coming decade. What does global partnership look like when it is no longer led by Washington? For too long, Africa’s relationship with the world has been framed around aid. The real opportunity is partnership, trade, investment, and mutual interest that treat Africa as an equal, not a recipient. A shifting global order is not a vacuum to fear. It is an opening to build something better,” he said.
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Saraki is expected to present the African perspective during the conference’s fifth panel on Tuesday under the theme “Development Policies: Withdrawal of the United States from International Development Opportunities and Challenges.” His selection, according to the statement, reflects his experience in both the private and public sectors, including his service as Nigeria’s President of the Senate, Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and Governor of Kwara State.
He will share the panel with Dr Paola Bautista de Alemán, Vice President for Training and Programmes at Primero Justicia, Venezuela, and Prof Christian Leuprecht of the Royal Military College, Canada. The session will be moderated by Dr Tilmann Feltes, Policy Adviser at Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Germany.
Other discussions at the workshop will focus on the future of U.S. foreign policy, Germany’s international partnerships, emerging global alliances, strategic dependencies, defence cooperation and geopolitical developments across different regions.
The event has attracted 22 participants from Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, Israel, Italy, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Australia, India, Argentina, Venezuela, the Philippines, Chile, Liberia and Poland, with Saraki among only two African representatives invited to participate.
