ABIDJAN, July 18 — Africa will play a key role in the future global economic order as the global economic order moves toward multipolarity, Kevin Chika Urama, chief economist and vice president of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), has said.
Africa, with its abundant natural resources, demographic potential and development advantages, will play an increasingly important role in global economic governance, Urama told Xinhua in an interview. The 2026 African Economic Conference was held from July 10 to 12 in Abidjan under the theme “Strengthening Africa’s Geopolitical Agency and Trade Resilience in a Multipolar World.” Researchers, government officials and representatives of regional and international institutions gathered to discuss how Africa can strengthen its strategic autonomy, enhance trade resilience and better participate in global economic governance. Urama observed that multipolarity provides more countries with opportunities to participate in global governance. “More countries are at the table, and we are going to have more inclusive and greater options for countries to decide on partnerships, on trade relations, and on other things.”
Speaking about Africa’s role in this process, Urama said the rise of emerging economies is contributing to the multipolarization of the global economic order. According to Urama, at this conference, the AfDB, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Africa, and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development called on economists and global policy actors to discuss how Africa should engage to strengthen its own geopolitical agency within this changing global economic order. He said Africa’s abundant land resources give the continent an important voice in shaping the future global economy. With 60 to 65 percent of the world’s remaining arable land, Africa will have a significant influence on global food security and sustainability.
He added that Africa’s rich natural resources, including about 30 percent of global mineral reserves and vast global renewable energy potential, give the continent strategic importance in the transformation of global industries. “So this continent has a great voice, a great opportunity to help shape the global economic order,” he said. Urama also highlighted Africa’s demographic advantage as an important driver of future development. “And then if you think about people, we as human beings, one of four human beings in the world by 2050 will be African,” he said. He said Africa’s large and youthful population will be a key driver of the continent’s future development, with its population expected to reach 2.5 billion by 2050 and more than 60 percent of people being young. “We have a young, growing population in Africa. So whether you are talking about human capital, or you are talking about natural capital … Africa has a great role to play in this new global economic order,” he said.
Xinhua
