IFA, Al Jazeera Center for Studies host Gulf-Africa Regional Conference in Addis

Addis Ababa, October 11, 2024 (FBC) – The Institute of Foreign Affairs (IFA) in collaboration with Al Jazeera Center for Studies (ACS) hosted a research conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia  on October 11 and 12, 2024, focusing on the theme “Africa: Challenges of Fragility and Capitalising on International Competition.”

On the opening of the conference, Head of IFA Mr. Jafar Bedru emphasized the implications for Africa, including both challenges and opportunities. In the African continent, the emerging great powers’ competition threatens the ground.

It was mentioned that international competition for Africa’s resources is also intensifying, resulting in heightened struggles for its markets and strategic positions.

This competition not only exacerbates the continent’s existing challenges, both chronic and immediate, but also presents genuine opportunities to advance and protect Africa’s interests in innovative ways: through beneficial agreements, partnerships, resilience, and mutual benefit.

At the two-day conference, distinguished African and Gulf researchers and academics have gathered to deliberate on how can African nations effectively balance their national, regional, and continental policies and strategies to foster their interests while addressing challenges, according to IFA’s post on social media.