The G7 summit offered the most recent insights for Africa into how the western advanced nations are considering their stakes in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the impact that could have on developing nations. As African governments assess the significance of the G7’s promises of support in areas of vital concern to Africans, some key political possibilities could advance or derail them. African governments especially face many challenges, amid escalating tensions between western democracies, Russia and China. Africa’s interests would be best served if its leaders were to avoid being drawn into the hostile divide between Russia and China and the west. But it may not be possible to avoid taking sides while trying to maximise advantageous partnerships. If Putin remains in power and Biden wins a second four-year term, then the prospects for a second Cold War in Africa will escalate. If Putin remains but Biden loses to the still dominant Trump faction Republicans in the 2022 congressional and 2024 presidential elections, then America’s pledge to the G7 package could be abandoned in 2025. rump cancelled the US pledge to support the special fund to mitigate the effects of climate change in 2017. Other cuts in multilateral programmes, including to the World Health Organisation and African peacekeeping, that Biden restored, would likely be reinstated.
SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION