Rt Hon. James Cleverly: Strengthening Future-focused, Mutually Beneficial UK-African Partnerships

As Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, an appointment which he stepped into on September 6, 2022, Rt Hon. James Cleverly, has the overarching responsibility for the departmental portfolio and oversight of the ministerial team, Cabinet, Foreign Policy and National Security Council

Strategy, Intelligence Policy and Honours for the United Kingdom. Just this week, he was in Nigeria to set out a positive vision for the UK’s partnership with Africa. This was part of the four-day tour of three African nations- Ghana, Nigeria and Zambia. In an exclusive interview with some select journalists in Lagos including Chiemelie Ezeobi of THISDAY, the foreign secretary, amongst other things, canvassed for greater partnership with Nigeria in terms of climate change, women empowerment, and agriculture. He also clamoured for respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, self-determination and human rights, which he said must prevail alongside democracy, the rule of law, liberty and freedom

To strengthen “future-focused, mutually beneficial” partnerships, the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (FCDO), Rt. Hon. James Cleverly was recently on an African tour of three nations in the continent, namely Ghana, Nigeria and Zambia. 

The four-day tour began in Ghana on Monday, July 31, 2023. Then on Tuesday, August 1, he set off to Lagos,  Nigeria before proceeding to the capital city of Abuja for a meeting with President Bola Tinubu. The tour ended with a visit to Zambia on Thursday. 

UK Investment for Small Businesses in Ghana

In Ghana, the foreign secretary announced the new UK investment for small businesses in Ghana, one of the UK’s biggest export markets in sub-Saharan Africa. 

He also pledged a £40 million boost for Ghana’s businesses. The funding provided by British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution, owned wholly by the FCDO, will deliver long-term flexible capital for up to 150 Ghanaian small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), opening up access to business support services to help them grow.

Boost for Climate Change, Agriculture in Nigeria

In Nigeria, the foreign secretary pledged support to make Nigeria’s agriculture sector more resilient to climate change on a visit to Nigeria.  

While in Lagos, he announced a £10 million UK-backed facility in Nigeria, in partnership with finance company InfraCredit that will unlock funding for sustainable and climate-friendly infrastructure development projects, such as providing renewable energy services to homes in urban areas, as well as green housing.

Also, in Abuja he announced a £55 million Propcom+ contract, a UK International Climate Finance programme which aims to support the transformation of Nigeria’s rural economy, and a £2.89 million grant, will support more than 4 million people across Nigeria to adopt and scale up sustainable agricultural practices.

Optimising Security in Nigeria

Earlier, in an exclusive interview with select media houses in Lagos, the foreign secretary admitted that given that prosperity and security go hand in hand as security gives confidence for an investor to invest in any country, he  therefore opined that the potential of Nigeria must be optimised.

He said: “We recognise that physical security and prosperity go hand in hand. Ultimately, it is for all governments to take up their primary responsibilities for the security of their own people and for their sovereign government. 

“The UK enjoys a long-standing relationship with Nigeria, and we will continue to look for ways that we can help the government in harnessing security for the Nigerian people, whether through joint training and exercising. For example, yesterday, when I arrived, I saw a joint project between the British office and Nigerian institutions that were working to curb people smuggling or drug smuggling.

“This kind of joint project, as well as joint training, helps keep Nigerians safe, which is good for the Nigerian economy. It helps in development and growth, which is good for the country and the UK. So, we will always look for opportunities to work and enhance our mutual security.”

Championing Women Empowerment 

On the situation of women’s empowerment, the foreign secretary said the UK recently launched the  International Women and Girls Strategy. He said this means that “our bilateral programming in the work that we do with our partner governments, we are determined to make sure that 80 per cent of these projects have a measurable impact on women and girls by 2030. 

“And really, what I am hoping for is an 100 per cent. But 80 per cent is a good milestone.  That means that we will be relentlessly  focused on that, and encourage our partner organisation and governments to also be relentlessly focused on unlocking the economic potentials of women. 

“As I said in the speech, It is foolish not to the potential 26 per cent of global GDP could be unlocked if we equalised women participation in the workplace.  We know that there is already a lot of economic activity that has been delivered by women in the informal sector, so if we can find a way of increasing the profitability of the work women are already doing, that would have a huge impact.”

Bringing the Right Kind of Investment, Local Processing to Africa 

Noting that investment is important, Rt. Hon James, however said they are also conscious that with the right kind of investment, there is a huge mutually beneficial relationship, partnership that can develop between the UK and African economies. 

“Much of African history is based on agricultural products and products from its mining industries have been exported in a very grown form to process overseas, and much of the profitability has been added outside the continent from Africa which then has to re-import basically its own product at a much more high price.

“So the UK and I would very much like to see more processing capacity in Africa. Ultimately its not for the UK government to dictate to the nature of their investment, but certainly, we recognise that it is in Africa’s interest and the UK’s interest for more of that value added processing to happen within the continent, generating revenues that could be spent for further economic growth within the continent, which is good for Africa.

“Economic prosperity is good for both of us, and that economic prosperity often goes hand in hand with stability, which is good for everybody.  So that is the kind of investment we are looking to see and a shift in the nature of investment in the future compared to the kind of investment that we have.”

Also speaking on the type of investments that are expected and the criteria, he said the British International Investment (BII) is an investment arm of FCDO, and although it is only owned by the UK government, “ultimately it does make its own investment decisions, but we have other investment vehicles that we doing as well such as finance for example.

“What we seek to do is to make sure that we are effective and flexible to try and make sure that whatever financial vehicle is utilised is the most appropriate for the investment needs at the point. So in terms of the type of investment that we are looking to support, one is the transition into more renewable energy will be something we will keep very close eyes on.

“Also, areas that have not just a short term but long term positive impact on the economic ecosystem within the country is something we will always look positively to support. But ultimately, our response will be dictated by the need, the need will be dictated by the strength of the idea, and the investment opportunity. That will form the foundation of UK ongoing economic support for Nigeria and other African entrepreneurs”.