The other side of the Strait

In the last 20 years, the cellphone has been the landmark invention: all of us carry in our pockets one of those small computers, which allow us to communicate with the rest of the world wherever we are, and whenever we want to.

In reality, the cellphone has changed our everyday lives. In fact, there is one country where more than two-thirds of the population use mobile phones daily to purchase goods, call a taxi cab and even buy a coffee. And that nation is not in Europe, nor is it Japan or United States – it is Kenya.

We normally don’t place Africa at the vanguard of technology, but it is there. When we think of Africa, the first things that come to our minds are poverty, dictatorships, conflicts and hunger. Yes, they do exist, but we must be aware that these aren’t the only things that make up the reality of Africa – they are only a part of it. There is another Africa, one that doesn’t appear on the news, one that is rapidly advancing.

While Europe was in the midst of a devastating crisis in 2012 – one that stunted our growth – the countries that make up sub-Saharan Africa grew five percent. According to the World Bank, six out of 10 nations that posted positive figures in the last decade are located on the African continent.

Europe needs to strengthen its relations with Africa in order to face new challenges and take advantage of fresh opportunities. We are the continent’s number-one trading partner, the main destination for African migrants who come here to live and work, and a source of support for the region’s peace and humanitarian missions.

But in fact, Africa receives more money from remittances from its immigrants than humanitarian aid.

The amount of foreign investment in Africa also surpasses aid figures and the regional nations are also investing abroad. Angola, for instance, invests more money in Portugal than Lisbon invests in its former colony.

Africa receives more money from remittances from its immigrants than humanitarian aid”

For that reason, it is imperative that we strengthen our relations with Africa. For Spain, that relationship should be based on three fundamentals. First, we should concentrate on responding to the peace and security challenges facing the continent by supporting Africa’s own solutions to resolving conflicts in different countries. Secondly, we should contribute to advancement of democracy and human-rights issues, because these are the only routes to take to help the inclusion of certain societies that have normally been cast off.

Lastly, we should promote an economic pact between Europe and Africa by putting forth all the mechanisms we have at our disposal, from development cooperation to trade and investments that will help Africans obtain prosperous growth.

Spain has already embarked on building on those three fundamentals. Our armed forces have contributed to helping secure peace in Somalia and Mali and will soon be sent to the Central African Republic. It has been part of an agreement hammered out with opposition groups along with European Union framework, and under the auspices of United Nations resolutions though a petition by the African Union.

Our companies are also conscientious about the opportunities that Africa offers – Spanish exports to Africa in 2013 have doubled in six years from the time the crisis was just getting a foothold in Europe. Nowhere else in the world have our exports grown; currently we export more to Africa than we do to Latin America.

Africa also has a fast-growing middle class. According to the African Development Bank, 34 percent of the population, or more than 300 million people, belong to the middle class. By 2060, there will be 1.1 billion – or more than half of the population – who will become part of the middle class. The challenge for the EU and Spain is to help create institutional, legal and investment security measures so that the middle class can thrive, and so that new African enterprises can take shape and our own companies can invest more in Africa. This will contribute to a healthy process, in which growing prosperity will generate greater stability and better opportunities so that Africans won’t have to rely on migration as their only option.

We have grown accustomed to hearing about the good news coming out of Asia and the growth trends in Latin America. We have forgotten that only 30 or 40 years ago the newspapers were filled with stories about the dictatorships, poverty and wars in both those continents. Asia and America have transformed their societies and now have become sources for opportunities and prosperity – not only for their citizens but for Spain as well.

In the next 20 years, Africa will also undergo that transformation; the continent’s proximity will be an advantage for Spain. The European Union and Africa will work together to achieve that transformation. Just like the old African proverb: if you want to travel fast, travel alone, but if you want to go far, take a traveling companion.