The Labour Party’s head of foreign affairs, David Lammy, today promised an Africa strategy if Labour wins Thursday’s British parliamentary elections.
“There is currently no strategy for Africa in this government, I don’t know of any,” he said at a press conference in London today organised by the UK Foreign Press Association.
Lammy advocated a strategy “based on partnerships, but also on the enormous opportunities that the African continent has, particularly by 2050, thanks to the huge population and innovation present”.
“I hope that a Labour government will be able to publish a strategy for Africa very soon,” he said.
In January, the British government led by Conservative Rishi Sunak announced the postponement to an uncertain date of a summit with African countries scheduled for 23 and 24 April, to which Angola and Mozambique had been invited.
The meeting was intended to strengthen partnerships between the UK and African countries in terms of trade and investment in sectors such as finance and technology.
The British government estimates that the first edition, in 2020, enabled agreements worth more than 6.5 billion pounds (7.6 billion euros) and investment commitments of 8.9 billion pounds (10.4 billion euros).
The Labour Party, the main opposition force, is the favourite to win the parliamentary elections on July 4, given its average lead of 20 percentage points in the polls over the Conservative Party, which has been in government since 2010.
Lusa
