World
Angola, Ghana to Deepen Ties in Mining, Cocoa Sectors
By Kester Kenn Klomegah
With the headquarters situated in Accra, the capital city of the Republic of Ghana, the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is now attracting a special business focus for both African countries and foreign countries.
For foreign countries, it is a time to strengthen bilateral economic cooperation and install joint manufacturing clusters inside Africa.
Some African countries are focusing on combining resources to step up production and distribution of high-quality commodities, as under the designed regulations goods and products can be circulated across borders with taxes – one of the conditions under the newly established African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
In that direction, Ghana has witnessed an unprecedented number of high-powered foreign visitors. Early August, it hosted a huge business forum during the three-day official visit of President João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço of Angola.
That oil-rich country is located on the west coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking country in both total area and population (behind Brazil) and is the seventh-largest country in Africa.
According to official documents, President João Lourenço visited at the invitation of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. It was a reciprocal visit for President Lourenço, as in August 2019, he first invited President Akufo-Addo.
During their meeting at the Jubilee House, the seat of the presidency, both leaders expressed the highest desire to strengthen and deepen their bilateral ties between both countries.
The agreement signed allows for a consultative mechanism for Ghana and Angola to interact regularly on areas of mutual interest, particularly in mining and hydrocarbon industry development, agriculture, education, tourism, transportation, and maritime security.
Angola looks to explore Ghana’s vast experience in the mining and cocoa sectors, whilst Ghana seeks to benefit from Angola’s rich knowledge in the oil and gas sector. The two leaders vowed to jointly fight threats to maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea.
Under the auspices of the Secretariat of the AfCFTA, the business forum that brought President João Lourenço to Ghana, was held and aimed at expanding bilateral business relations through the promotion of two-way investment and mutually complementary partnerships in the relations between the two countries.
It was additionally focused to drive networking for investment opportunities, attempted at exploring ways to boost trade and to discuss concrete solutions to roadblocks hindering investment and increase two-way exports between Angola and Ghana.
Wamkele Keabetswe Mene, the first Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat elected in February 2020, reiterated during the opening that the AfCFTA was set to effectively harmonize trade in goods and services in addition to improving the business environment by reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers on the continent.
In addition, the move marks a new trade and investment era for Africa and offers a wide range of possibilities for businesses across various sectors in the member states.
Resultantly, this new dawn of continental integration presented a wide spectrum of opportunities for both Angolan and Ghanaian companies in multiple sectors including agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture, petroleum and hydrocarbon activities, environment, science and technology, and tourism.
“With harmonized trade regulations and better movement of goods and services across the continent, the case for production in Africa for Africa is now a reality, where business operators in the member states can play a significant role,” Mene told the forum and added further that by consolidating Africa into one trade area provided great opportunities for entrepreneurs, businesses and consumers across the continent, unlocking trade and manufacturing potentials, enhancing industrialization in Africa.
With wide work experience in diplomacy including a previous position as the Chief Director for Africa Economic Relations in South Africa’s Department of Trade and Industry and South Africa’s lead negotiator in the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, Wamkele Mene made a strong case for investing in Africa.
Compared to previous times, Africa is gradually becoming a more competitive investment destination for decades to come because of its improving relative risk profiles, demography, and continental integration.
“My message today is very simple: Africa is open for business. The business potential of the continent is tremendous in various sectors, including agriculture, energy, infrastructure, natural resources, and information and communications, offering opportunities for entrepreneurs,” Mene asserted in his speech and urged the business community to scale up entrepreneurship and turn challenges into springboards.
Alan Kyerematen, Ghana’s Minister of Trade and Industry, similarly reiterated that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), provides a unique platform to guide the continent’s industrialization, trade and economic recovery effort.
Angola and Ghana have a lot to gain from working together in fields such as agriculture, fisheries, livestock, industry, oil and gas, the petrochemical industry, value addition to their mineral resources, development of energy resources particularly renewable energy, financial technology and the industry.
Africa is shifting from one of the challenges and gaps to one about opportunities and prospects. The continent is now receiving a high level of interest as an investment destination from investors from across the globe. Indeed, it has a new narrative that should inspire the African diaspora to explore opportunities on the continent and invest in the various sectors.
Businesspeople from Ghana, Egypt, Senegal, Nigeria, United Arab Emirates, among other guests, participated in the business forum held at the headquarters of the African Continental Free Trade Area, where the Angolan head of State encouraged investment in Angola.
Later at the Legislative Assembly session, the Speaker of Parliament Rt Hon Alban S. K. Bagbin, in his welcome speech urged Africa countries to direct their energies towards building stronger institutions and systems and further argued that globally, countries that have succeeded in this endeavour, tend to discharge their mandates for the benefits of their people. Speaker Bagbin commended President João Lourenço for his dedication to tackling corruption head-on and reducing economic graft in his country.
On his part, while addressing the parliamentarians, João Lourenço commended the Parliament and Speaker Bagbin’s leadership, for being able to steer the affairs of the house despite its unique nature. He called for deeper cooperation between the two countries in building a formidable energy sector, parliamentary diplomacy and good governance.
With the inception of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), there is now increased and diversified opportunities to promote trade and attract foreign direct investment, create businesses and spur entrepreneurship, transfer new knowledge and skills within the entire African market space.
Currently, almost 70 per cent of countries that have signed the agreement have deposited their instruments of ratification, which means they have legally accepted the obligation to open their markets, reduce their barriers to trade, reduce barriers to investment and adhere to this single set of rules for trade and investment on the African continent.
The Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area is an independent organ of the African Union System in charge of the negotiations and implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement. Trading under the African Continental Free Trade Area started in earnest on 1st January 2021, following a five-and-half-year period since negotiations were launched on 15th June 2015.
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
For the first time in its history, the World Public Summit will be held on the African continent. On 29–30 July 2026, Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, will host the World Public Summit. Africa — “A New World: Africa in Shaping a Shared Future.”
The Summit is organised by the World Peoples Assembly in cooperation with African partner organisations. It will bring together leaders of public diplomacy, representatives of international intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations, academics, experts, representatives of the education and cultural sectors, youth leaders, socially responsible businesses, media professionals, and civil society institutions from across Africa and other regions of the world.
The World Public Summit. Africa continues the work initiated during the First World Public Assembly “A New World of Conscious Unity,” held in Moscow in September 2025, and serves as one of the key milestones in preparation for the Second World Public Assembly “A New World: Values That Unite,” which will take place in Moscow on 18–19 September 2026.
Today, Africa is emerging as one of the principal centres of global development. Rapid demographic growth, expanding entrepreneurship, strengthening regional integration, rich cultural heritage, and the growing role of civil society institutions make the continent an increasingly important contributor to the future architecture of international cooperation.
The Summit will focus on issues of genuine sovereignty and sustainable development, public diplomacy, preservation of cultural and historical heritage, international cooperation in education and science, youth engagement, innovation-driven development, creative industries, and the formation of new partnerships among countries and peoples.
The main business programme of the Summit will take place on 30 July 2026 at the headquarters of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) in Addis Ababa. Holding the Summit at UNECA highlights its pan-African dimension and creates opportunities for broad international dialogue on humanitarian cooperation and public diplomacy.
The programme will include plenary sessions, strategic dialogues, and expert panels dedicated to values-based development, education, culture, youth leadership, innovation, and international cooperation.
Participation has already been confirmed by Professor Saidou Madougou, Director of the Department of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation of the African Union; Rita Bissoonauth, Director of the UNESCO Liaison Office to the African Union and UNECA in Addis Ababa; Zuzana Schwidrowski, Director of the Macroeconomics, Finance and Governance Division of UNECA, as well as ministers, leaders of public organisations, and representatives of the business community from a number of African countries.
On the same day, the ADWA Victory Memorial Museum—Ethiopia’s national memorial complex dedicated to the Victory of Adwa and an important centre for preserving the historical memory of the Ethiopian people—will host the award ceremony of the regional stage of the V International Competition “Leader of Public Diplomacy”, followed by a large-scale cultural programme.
One of the key outcomes of the Summit will be the adoption of the African Communiqué, reflecting proposals and recommendations aimed at strengthening humanitarian, educational, cultural, and public cooperation between African countries and other regions of the world.
The outcomes, initiatives, and recommendations were developed during the World Public Summit. Africa will be presented at the Second World Public Assembly “A New World: Values That Unite”, to be held in Moscow on 18–19 September 2026.
According to Andrey Belyaninov, General Secretary of the World Peoples Assembly, “the Addis Ababa Summit is an important step toward building a new world founded on mutual respect, cultural diversity, dialogue and sustainable development.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The United Kingdom will get its seventh Prime Minister in 10 years as Mr Keir Starmer announced his resignation on Monday.
The Minister said he is stepping down as leader of the governing Labour Party and will leave office within weeks, scarcely two years after being elected in a landslide.
Mr Starmer says he will remain caretaker prime minister until a new Labour leader is chosen by the party.
Mr Starmer made the announcement after facing growing pressure to hand over to a new leader who can try to revive the government’s flagging fortunes.
He led Labour to a landslide election victory in July 2024, but since then, his popularity and that of the party have plummeted.
His departure was triggered by the victory of Mr Andy Burnham in a special election last week. The popular ex-mayor of Greater Manchester planned to challenge the existing PM for the Labour leadership.
Mr Starmer made the announcement outside the prime minister’s 10 Downing St. residence with a brief statement on Monday.
“The question my party is asking now is whether I am best placed to lead us into the next general election,” Mr Starmer said. “I have heard the answer of my parliamentary party to that question, and I accept that answer with good grace.
Mr Starmer is the sixth prime minister in a decade to stand outside 10 Downing Street and announce a premature departure.
It comes the day before Britain marks the 10th anniversary of its vote to leave the European Union, a decision that still affects the country’s economy and politics.
Over the past decade, 10 Downing Street has had six occupants, including Mr David Cameron, who left office in 2016 after the Brexit referendum and was succeeded by Ms Theresa May. She was followed by Mr Boris Johnson, whose tenure covered Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic. After Mr Johnson came Ms Liz Truss, whose 49-day premiership was the shortest in British history. Mr Rishi Sunak then took office before being succeeded by Mr Starmer, the outgoing occupant of Number 10.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A financing facility of up to $60 million has been secured by AXIAN Energy, the energy division of the AXIAN Group.
The funding package was provided by MCB, one of the leading financial institutions in the Indian Ocean region.
It comprises a $40 million revolving credit facility with a three-year tenor and extension option, and $20 million in unfunded instruments, providing AXIAN Energy with enhanced financial flexibility, enabling the company to rapidly mobilise resources and seize development opportunities across its target markets.
The energy firm is expected to use the capital to deliver large-scale energy infrastructure projects across Africa.
Over the past two years, AXIAN Energy has significantly accelerated its growth by expanding its renewable energy project pipeline, with solar projects currently under development in Senegal, Benin, Zambia, Côte d’Ivoire, Madagascar, and Burkina Faso.
Building on this momentum, AXIAN Energy now operates a portfolio comprising 350 MW of installed renewable energy capacity, supported by 77 MWh of energy storage capacity, positioning the AXIAN Group as a major contributor to Africa’s energy transition.
The chief executive of AXIAN Energy, Mr Benjamin Memmi, said, “This transaction marks a key milestone in AXIAN Energy’s growth trajectory. It provides us with the financial capacity to sustain the momentum we have built over the past two years, further strengthening our renewable energy portfolio and expanding our presence across new African markets.”
Also commenting, the Global Head of Structured Finance at MCB, Mr Mathieu Delteil, said, “We are proud to support AXIAN Energy in structuring this facility, reaffirming our commitment to enabling transformative projects across Africa.
“By leveraging our sector expertise and deep understanding of regional markets, we have delivered a tailored financing solution that aligns with AXIAN’s long-term renewable energy ambitions.
“This partnership highlights our role as a strategic financial partner, mobilising capital towards investments that drive sustainable growth and accelerate the energy transition across the continent.”
The financing agreement between the two organisations strengthens their long-standing relationship because it is driven by a shared commitment to supporting infrastructure development and economic growth across Africa.
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