It was a collective and determined plea that rose on Friday from the aisles of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum 2026. Gathered around a panel dedicated to African investment and competitiveness, foreign ministers, UN officials, and institutional representatives painted a portrait of the continent radically different from the one too often conveyed by major international media \u2014 that of a space beset solely by conflict and poverty. Against this reductive narrative, they put forward figures, potential, and a shared conviction: Africa is a vastly underestimated global opportunity, and it is urgent to treat it as such.<\/p>\n
A free trade zone as a lever for transformation<\/strong><\/p>\n It was Hanna Serwaa Tetteh, UN Special Representative for Libya and head of the United Nations Support Mission in that country, who set the tone with the clarity the moment required. \u00ab\u00a0The creation of a continental free trade zone and the increase in investment will make Africa an attractive destination,\u00a0\u00bb she stated before the forum’s assembly. Emphasizing the issue of financing as a major structural challenge, she stressed that access to affordable, long-term financing remains an essential condition for strengthening the continent’s competitiveness, while adding that highlighting successful projects could demonstrate the viability of initiatives that could be extended to the public and private sectors. A call to change the narrative as much as to change the method.<\/p>\n **Immense resources, narratives that do a disservice**<\/p>\n Sudanese Foreign Minister Muhyiddin Salim echoed this view, lamenting that African potential is \u00ab\u00a0often overshadowed by narratives of conflict and poverty.\u00a0\u00bb He recalled that 60% of Africa’s population consists of young people \u2014 a youth that represents considerable human capital \u2014 and listed the riches specific to his country: agriculture, livestock, minerals, oil, and gas. Without shying away from painful realities, he acknowledged that the civil war that has torn Sudan apart since April 2023 is partly fueled by competition over natural resources, but drew from it a lesson contrary to resignation: strengthened economic integration and cooperation between African countries could precisely \u00ab\u00a0create a solid environment for regional and international investors.\u00a0\u00bb Referring to Sudan’s strategic geographical position, with more than 800 kilometers of coastline along a Red Sea under tension, he believed the country could become \u00ab\u00a0a key gateway to Africa,\u00a0\u00bb provided peace returns. \u00ab\u00a0The end of the war would open up significant opportunities for investors,\u00a0\u00bb he concluded, in a phrase that conveys as much hope as urgency. Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier J.P. Nduhungirehe brought to these discussions the analytical rigor of a country that has made economic transformation its national project. Acknowledging that Africa, \u00ab\u00a0rich in human and natural resources,\u00a0\u00bb has faced recurring decision-making challenges, he nonetheless asserted that \u00ab\u00a0with the right investments, the continent could achieve true prosperity.\u00a0\u00bb He described the African Continental Free Trade Area \u2014 the AfCFTA \u2014 as a \u00ab\u00a0decisive turning point\u00a0\u00bb in this process, thereby joining the consensus emerging from the entire panel. The latter also included the foreign ministers of Uganda and Zambia, the Minister of State of S\u00e3o Tom\u00e9 and Pr\u00edncipe, as well as AfCFTA Secretary-General Wamkele Mene \u2014 an assembly whose very composition illustrated the desire to make heard a united, diverse African voice determined to weigh in on global economic agendas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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\nThe AfCFTA, a \u00ab\u00a0decisive turning point\u00a0\u00bb according to Kigali<\/strong><\/p>\n