Thank you very much – it’s a real pleasure to be here, and share a stage with His Excellency, President Mahama. A very warm welcome to you.
Last year though, the former Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, used this platform to launch a reset of UK policy on Africa. We’ve had a period of listening, and a challenge to think differently about what partnership between the UK and African countries really needs to look like.
Since then, we have listened – to governments, to businesses, civil society, and diaspora voices. In December – and many of you were here for this – we set out a new Approach to Africa.
We built on this at the Global Partnerships Conference which we co-chaired with South Africa last month – and we brought together governments, civil society, philanthropy and the private sector to rethink how we work together to tackle global challenges.
And the question now I think has become quite simple. And it’s that in a tighter, more contested world – what does true partnership look like? And how do we know if we’re getting it right?
It’s a really simple thing to stand here and say, but it’s actually quite a difficult thing to do well. It is not about what we announce or spend. It is about the difference we make together.
And that means using all the tools we have in a much more joined-up way, and being honest about the scale of the challenge. That’s important, because of course aid still matters. It really does. And I think it always will.
But it’s not the dominant financial flow into Africa – and it will never ever be the only tool, or the only answer that we have.
So the UK’s new approach is not about doing more of the same. It’s about working differently. Where 3 themes define what is going to come next. And that is Results. Reach. And Respect. These are 3 tests of our partnerships that we will be using.
So the first test is results. Our partnerships should be judged by the difference they make – the jobs created, the investment unlocked, the opportunities delivered. And those results are needed now more than ever.
Last week I was at the African Development Bank’s annual meetings in Brazzaville, where we discussed many things, but 2 of the things we discussed were these dual crises – of Ebola and the Middle East – that are impacting the region.
And the need to respond quickly, in a coordinated way – while building resilience at the same time. Which is why we focus on outcomes, not just inputs. Because ODA as you all know is a tool, it is not an end in itself.
We are not offering ready‑made solutions – we should be supporting solutions that are built locally, and bringing the whole of ‘Team UK’ to the table.
I’ve seen how this works in practice, as many of you will have too. In Nigeria, where progress on investment into ports, manufacturing, finance and clean energy is creating many jobs.
In Ghana, where I visited a textile factory backed by British International Investment – now one of the largest garment factories in West Africa. Work I’m really proud to build on, as we signed a mutual growth partnership with Ghana this week.
And we see it in trade – which is creating jobs, encourages investment, and strengthens our ties. The UK imported £17.7 billion of goods from African partners with UK Economic Partnership Agreements last year.
But we can do so much more than that. And that’s why, with the Developing Countries Trading Scheme, we’re introducing more flexible rules of origin.
It’s why we have created a new Africa regional cumulation group – 50 African countries able to forge joint supply chains without losing preferences.
We also recognise that trade between African countries can unlock huge gains for Africa. The UK was one of the first countries to sign an MOU to support the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, and we will commence a new phase of support for that very soon. This I think gives you a feel for the direction we are moving in.
But the second test is reach. Doing lots of small things well is good, but it is not good enough. The scale of today’s challenges – from climate to fragility to the energy transition – require a completely different approach. And that starts with backing the changes partner countries are driving themselves.
Like in Ghana, where the mutual growth partnership we’ve announced this week builds on Ghana’s own reforms domestically, steps to cut public debt, bring down inflation, and restore investor confidence – with growth now rebounding. And internationally – with Ghana shaping the agenda. Championing the Accra Reset, co‑hosting the African Development Fund replenishment, and committing over $5 million of its own resources to ADF17.
Reach means backing the institutions and platforms that can truly move the dial. Institutions like the World Bank’s IDA and the African Development Bank’s ADF. Today, around two thirds of IDA financing goes to Africa – each pound unlocking several more.
I saw the impact platforms like this have in the DRC in March, and again last week. I was at a vaccine storage facility where UK funding, working through GAVI, UNICEF and the WHO, is strengthening DRC’s national systems that will save very many lives. And it’s being put to the test as we speak.
But this is long term work. Building systems takes time. And it’s work that the UK is truly committed to supporting, including through the current crisis. Reach also means thinking regionally. The constraints African countries face do not stop at borders. So neither can the solutions that we work on together.
So I’m pleased to announce our new UK–African Union Partnership programme, which is supporting AU-led action across peace and security, climate, growth and trade areas where the AU’s ability to bring together member states to work politically delivers results that no country could achieve by itself. And that’s why we’re pairing UK technical expertise with diplomatic engagement.
So we’re backing the AU to convene, to align, to lead, to act. And reach means the public and private sectors need to work together.
That’s what’s behind the Emerging Markets and Developing Economies Investor Taskforce – which I co-convene with the Economic Secretary to the Treasury. It brings together government, regulators, leaders in finance to unlock investment. Since it launched last May, the Taskforce has diagnosed the constraints holding investors back. Many of them will be familiar to you.
But now it’s about getting on with tackling those constraints – from improving access to the data investors need to make decisions, to increasing awareness of opportunities and helping to develop scalable investment products, and working with credit agencies and regulators to reduce frictions. So that capital – that we know is there – actually flows.
At the same time, we are using the government’s own tools to crowd in capital, through British International Investment’s new strategy – with a stronger focus on mobilising additional private capital, alongside its own resources.
Through supporting home-grown initiatives on the continent to attract investment. Like the Green Project Preparation Facility in Ghana announced this week – hosted by FSD Africa, with UK support backing the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund’s work to generate more investable opportunities.
And through the Private Infrastructure Development Group, which has had great success in Nigeria and East Africa deploying guarantees to unlock local currency financing for infrastructure projects and is laying the groundwork to develop similar facilities across Africa, in partnership with the African Development Bank.
While also supporting projects like Ghana’s Takoradi Floating Dock Project as part of a wider investor consortium. This project is delivered in partnership with the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, and is set to create up to 430 direct jobs, while strengthening a regional maritime hub that is key for Ghana, and that UK shipping and logistics firms rely on. And that’s what I think scale needs to looks like.
But the third test, the final test, and possibly the most important is that of respect. And in many ways, I think that’s the test we’ve spent the most time thinking about. As we developed our new Approach to Africa, we heard clearly the importance of aligning what we do, with national priorities, supporting regional leadership, and building on African institutions.
I heard it put really simply earlier this year from a Health Minister, who said we want a universal health service. You can’t do that for us. You can’t buy it for us. We need to build it. You need to help us to build it. That really stuck with me.
Respect means building systems, not substituting for them. It means backing self-reliance, never creating dependency. Recognising that Africa’s own resources – financial, human, institutional – dwarf any ODA flows. That it always has. And that those resources are the way to drive development and prosperity.
But respect also means being honest partners. Honesty can be difficult in these situations. Working through differences together, without walking away, without losing sight of what citizens need – stability, opportunity, safety, dignity.
And respect means that we show up for the whole relationship – not only for development, not only for trade and investment, but also for security, culture, innovation, and the deep ties that there are between our people. That is the partnership African stakeholders told us that they want, and that they expect.
So for the UK, last year was the reset. Now it’s about delivery. It’s a phase where partnerships are judged not by what is promised, but by what is delivered. Not by inputs, but by outcomes.
The UK’s ambition is very simple – it’s to be a long-term, serious partner. Working with others – as genuine partners – including through the Global Partnerships Compact that we launched last month. Measured by Results. Reach. And Respect.
So thank you. And it is now my very great pleasure to hand over to our true partner in this journey – His Excellency, President John Mahama.
