Dakar hosted, from 17-19 January, the third edition of the International Conference on the Emergence of Africa (ICEA), which focused on the theme, “Emergence, private sector and inclusiveness.” Organised by the Government of Senegal in collaboration with the African Development Bank, UNDP and the World Bank, the meeting brought together some 1000 African leaders, high-level personalities and experts. The conference shared best practices and took stock of the African countries’ progress towards emergence. Read on

The official celebration ceremony took place on 10 January in the capital city of Burkina Faso at the International Conference Centre of Ouaga 2000. The group welcomed the presence of President Alassane Dramane Ouattara of Côte d’Ivoire, the current chair of the UEMOA’s Heads of State and Governments Conference. In terms of challenges, he highlighted the low rate of intra-community trade; the large number of border controls, delays and illegal imposed levies; the distortion of competition; and difficulties of some companies in gaining access to markets within the union. At the end of the ceremony, the two presidents inaugurated the new UEMOA administrative complex, located in Ouaga 2000. Read on

On 17 December, President Macky Sall of Senegal presented phase 2 of the Emerging Senegal Plan, which covers the period of 2019-23. Senegal obtained donor pledges worth USD 14 billion. This is three times more than expected and more than twice as much as the first phase. The country benefitted from OECD expertise to set benchmarks and develop strategic priorities. Senegal is seeking to become an emerging country by 2035. Read on

West African governments have received some USD 18.2 billion in Chinese loans since 2000. The amount of loans has progressively increased and reached, on average, about USD 2 billion per year over the past five years. Nigeria is the top recipient of Chinese loans in West Africa, followed by Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal. This is nearly ten times less than the Chinese loans to Angola and less than half of the loans to Ethiopia or Kenya. Read on