Your majesty,
Your Excellencies, Presidents of republic,
Mr. Secretary-general of the United Nation
Mr secretary-general of the OAU,
Head of delegation,
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is a great honour for the people of Cameroon and for me to receive you in Yaoundé for the 21st Conference of Head of state and Government of France and Africa, the first of this century and millennium, the first to hold in our country.
I bid you all a warm welcome to Cameroon. It is a great honour but also an immense joy for, I can see here but faces of friends moved by a common determination to give Africa the place it deserves in the concert of Nations.
Thank you all for being here.
The theme of our conference, “Africa and the challenges of globalisation” was a must, in a way under the present circumstances. Because, while the 19th century was dubbed the century of the industrial revolution, the 20th century, that of major ideological and military confrontations, the 21st century will undoubtedly be the one of global exchanges or globalisation, if we prefer. I would merely raise the issues and map out areas for reflection, leaving other eminent speakers the task of doing an in-depth analysis. Confusedly, peoples of the world feel that they have moved into a new era where their common destiny will be further asserted on a daily basis. The now-accept expression “global village” conveys this feeling quite well.
The international society within which states played a preponderant role is being gradually replaced by a “global society” in which persons, associations, non-governmental organisations and enterprises, in short, civil society is playing an increasingly important role. For this new society, borders are no longer an obstacle. The circulation of information on an ever-increasing scale thanks to new technologies has undoubtedly accelerated the process.
Although Africa has joined this process belatedly, it has not remained on the sidelines of this drive. This veritable mutation of a rather complex nature will have – in fact already has – sequels for our continent, the impact of impact of which will be difficult to assess.
World trade, which is the spearhead of globalisation, will certainly affect our economies. Our already fragile economies will be subjected have to face the hard realities of the market. Will they be able to cope with stiff competition? This rise the issue of a possible regulatory mechanism, at least for a certain period of adaptation that will provide the necessary safeguards.
Will our political systems that are evolving – sometimes with difficulty – into more perfect democracies be able to withstand the sweeping wind of change that will surely be brought about by all forms of liberalisation? Will it not be necessary there again to contrive indispensable transitions in these systems?
Will our cultures, which are already heavily besieged by more dynamic cultural models, conveyed by exceptionally strong means of dissemination not run the risk of literally disappearing? In reaction to this, identity reflexes are already looming in the horizon. Should we, in turn, defend our “cultural specificity or try to find compromise solutions which will avert the cultural standardisation of the world.
Moreover, will market forces, while weakening some sectors of our economies, not cause a rise in unemployment and jeopardize our social gains? Of course, this problem is not peculiar to Africa but it could be more acute on this continent as our social balance is still unstable.
Virtually all sectors of our private or collective life will probably be affected. Are we going to remain masters of our destiny or be treated by proxy?
As we can see, these are all questions that are difficult to answer at the moment.
In my opinion, as things now stands, the prospects of globalisation as far as Africa is concerned engender both fears and hopes for attractive opportunities.
Fears because the risk of marginalization cannot be ruled out. The fact that we still cannot, but for a few exceptions, provide lasting solutions to domestic conflicts or disputes between States can discourage our external partners from undertaking long-term project in Africa. It is hard to imagine what the effects of a decline or even stagnation in foreign investments would be on our development. Regarding culture, I have already mentioned the threat to our heritage of the dissemination of a single model of thought.
Lastly, the spread of major pandemics in our continent, the foremost of which is AIDS, could constitute a major handicap because of its destructive effects on the active population of our countries. However, I do not want to believe in the theory that Africa is “the lost continent”. |
I think that Africa’s integration in the vast movement triggered worldwide by trade globalisation could, if properly done, offer many opportunities for our various countries.
Thus, our budding democracies could, by some kind of osmosis, catch up with the mainstream of universal democracy with its corollaries, which are the defence of human rights and the rule of law.
Similarly, a greater involvement of our economies in the world economy, accompanied by the necessary safeguards, should foster growth, notably by boosting investments and easing access of our products to external markets. It is easy to imagine the possible effects of marginalization on our development and, consequently, on our poverty alleviation efforts.
I believe too that there is no such thing as the unavoidable “asphyxiation” of our traditional cultures by the dominant western culture, if their values are given the recognition as they deserve. It seems to me, on the contrary, that they could be better expressed by reaching a wider audience. Examples already abound in this area.
Similarly, the so-called “digital gap” existing between the north and the south and which certainly is an obstacle to our development can be filled only through the interconnection of our activities at the international level and through the co-operation of developed countries.
Lastly, one can expect that in this same context, global mobilization against AIDS would be initiated, hence ending the current de facto “quarantine” of Africa.
There are strong arguments therefore in favour of globalisation. Besides, do we really have a choice? Rather, we should be asking ourselves with the already present risk of increased marginalization, or prepare for change by joining a movement that appears inevitable?
I think the choice is obvious. Hence, for us to fully join the globalisation trend we must walk part of the road by striving to overcome our handicaps. In other words, we should endeavour too:
Ensure that peace and security prevail;
Ensure the stability of our political systems by expanding the culture of democracy as widely as possible;
Reconcile economic competitiveness with satisfaction of the basic needs of the people; Control population growth;
Formulate public health and education policies, with emphasis, for the latter, on the acquisition of scientific and technical knowledge;
Protect the environment wherever it is threatened;
Lastly, accelerate regional and sub-regional integration in order to establish stronger economic groupings.
As can be seen, it is a mammoth task, which will not be easy to accomplish.
But, even if we do not carry it through, it is important that our partners see our strong desire to take our destiny into our own hands. It is on this basis that we will be judged and that we can hope for their support in order to step into the world society being ushered in.
Before I conclude, you will permit me, I hope, to specially salute President Jacques CHIRAC here present (sponsor of this summit), whose attachment to Africa we all know. I believe that through him, I can, on behalf of all of us, express our gratitude to France, which has unceasingly been Africa’s advocate at international forums and continues to be at the forefront in the provision of official development assistance to our continent.
On this note, I declare open the 21st Conference of Heads of State and Government of France and Africa, and wish it every success.
Thank you for your kind attention. |
