Page 8 - ARUBA TODAY

A8 WORLD NEWS
Tuesday 21 January 2020
UK looks to fast-growing Africa for trade ties after Brexit

By JILL LAWLESS and CARA cially China and Russia.
ANNA Britain is due to leave the
Associated Press European Union on Jan. 31,
LONDON (AP) — British and Johnson said the U.K.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson would become "a global
and Prince Harry touted free trading nation" after
the U.K. as an ideal business Brexit. He pledged that the
partner for Africa on Mon- post-Brexit immigration sys-
day as their country pre- tem would "put people be-
pares for post-Brexit deal- fore passports," acknowl-
ings with the world. edging a common frustra-
But Britain faces tough chal- tion across Africa.
lenges as it seeks to assert While other global powers
itself on a continent with including Gulf nations and
several of the world's fast- India have been increasing
est-growing economies, their diplomatic and eco-
and one whose youthful nomic presence in Africa,
1.2 billion population is set some observers have won-
to double by 2050. dered about the interest of
Far fewer of Africa's 54 Britain, a former colonizer.
heads of state or govern- When Theresa May visited
ment were attending the Kenya in 2018, even Kenyan
first U.K.-Africa Investment Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson, front center, hosts the UK Africa Investment Summit in Lon- President Uhuru Kenyatta
Summit than the dozens don, Monday Jan. 20, 2020. Boris Johnson is hosting 54 African heads of state or government in noted it was the first visit to
who attended the first Rus- London. The move comes as the U.K. prepares for post-Brexit dealings with the world. Front row East Africa's economic hub
sia-Africa summit last year from left, Senegal's President Macky Sall, Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Britain's Prime by a British prime minister in
or the gatherings China Minister Boris Johnson, Rwanda's President Paul Kagame, Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari. more than three decades.
regularly holds. Center row from left, Malawi's President Peter Mutharika, Britain's Business Secretary Andrea Lead- Johnson stressed that he
The U.K.'s department for in- som, Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta, Guinea's President Alpha Conde, Britain's International had visited about a dozen
Trade Secretary Liz Truss. Top row from left, Angola's President Joao Lourenco, Algeria's President
ternational trade says two- Abdelmadjid Tebboune, World Bank President David Malpass, UN executive secretary of Eco- African countries when he
way trade with Africa in the nomic Commission for Africa Vera Songwe and IMF Africa Director Abebe Aemro Selassie. was British foreign secretary
year ending in the second Associated Press between 2017 and 2019.
quarter of 2019 was $46 He said "billions of pounds
billion. Meanwhile, Africa's 2019. that British officials and "We have no divine right to worth of deals" would be
two-way trade with China, Johnson told attendees the companies need to work to that business," he said. "This sealed at Monday's sum-
the continent's top trading conference "is long over- convince African nations to is a competitive world. You mit, including major clean-
partner, was $208 billion in due." He acknowledged do business with the U.K. have may suitors" — espe- energy projects.q

Rising inequality eroding

trust in capitalism - survey

"We are living in a trust par- said, as are fears over au- man said.
adox," said Richard Edel- tomation in the workplace, Just recently, BlackRock
man, the CEO of Edelman, a lack of training, immigra- CEO Laurence Fink said his
which has been conduct- tion and the gig economy. firm, which manages some
ing its survey of trust for 20 According to the survey, $7 trillion for investors, will
years. "Since we began 83% of employees globally put climate change and
measuring trust, economic are concerned about their sustainability at the heart of
growth has fostered rising jobs. its investing approach. And
trust." Business and NGOs are Credit Suisse, following a
The logo of the World Economy Forum is displayed on a door
at the Congress Centre in Davos, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 19, Though that relation- the institutions that people protest of its activities at a
2020. ship between economic most trust to deal with glob- branch in Switzerland, has
Associated Press growth and faith in the sys- al issues, a blow to govern- said it would stop invest-
tem remains in develop- ments riven by populist and ing in new coal-fired power
By PAN PYLAS day, 56% thought that ing areas such as Middle partisan politics. plants.
Associated Press capitalism was doing more East and Asia, the survey Climate issues are among Consumer goods giant Uni-
DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) harm than good despite found that rising inequality the most important, and lever, the maker of Sure de-
— Rising income inequality another year of solid eco- in many rich countries has business leaders can no oderants or Comfort fabric
is undermining confidence nomic growth and near-full contributed to a weaken- longer brush aside consum- conditioners, promised to
in capitalism around the employment in many de- ing in trust in capitalism. er concerns as brands can halve its use of virgin plastic
world, according to a sur- veloped countries. "Fears are stifling hope, be quickly tarnished if they by 2025.
vey conducted by pub- The stark finding could and long-held assumptions are deemed to be unethi- "Business is a catalyst for
lic relations firm Edelman cause a stir among the about hard work leading to cal. change," said Edelman.
ahead of the gathering of business executives and upward mobility are now "There is a growing risk of The survey involved 30-min-
the elites in the Swiss ski re- political leaders as they invalid," Edelman said. brands getting sucked in ute online interviews in 28
sort of Davos. make their way to the an- Corruption, corporate mis- and CEOs have a man- countries between Oct. 19
Among those surveyed in nual meeting of the World behavior and fake news date from customers and and Nov. 18 with more than
the report published Mon- Economic Forum. are eroding trust, Edelman employees to act," Edel- 34,000 people worldwide.q