According to the Executive Director of the Africa-China Centre for Policy and Advisory (ACCPA), Paul Frimpong, the African agency must be on the rise as a matter of urgency to drive the debate and knowledge production when it comes to Sino-African relations.
He made these remarks during a keynote speech he delivered at the Thirteenth Meeting of the China-Africa Think Tanks Forum held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on March 8, 2024.
One of the significant sub-forums of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation is the China-Africa Think Tank Forum. The 13th China-Africa Think Tank Forum and the first China-Africa Think-Tank and Media Symposium are two of the fifteen significant international intellectual exchange events that have taken place in China and African nations over the previous fifteen years.
IMAGE: Paul Frimpong, ACCPA’s Executive Director, speaking at the plenary session of CATTF 2024 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Over 150 scholars, researchers, and academics from China and Africa attended the CATTF conference, which was held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s bustling and economically significant metropolis. They gave a variety of talks and interventions targeted at enhancing research and information exchange between China and Africa.
Having over a decade of working experience as a Sino-African expert, Paul Frimpong challenged all the think tank experts from Africa during his keynote speech to step up and lead the conversation by being vocal about African perspectives when it comes to the continent’s relations with China.
According to Mr. Frimpong, there’s more room for improvement in the African agency’s leading policy conversation in terms of Africa-China cooperation.
“The era of leaving the conversation to actors outside of the continent must come to an end sooner or later if we, as Africans, want to be taken seriously.”
“It is an obvious fact, based on current numbers and future projections, that Africa and China’s cooperation will continue to grow. There will be more positive collaboration between Africa and China across multiple industries in many years to come.”.
Written by: Mercy Tedeku, Research Associate, ACCPA