Thank you so much, honourable Chair and members of the committee, for inviting me to contribute to this important study.
This study is a signal to me that our Canadian political system is finally catching up with realities in our classrooms. Canadians, especially younger ones, want a stronger Canada-Africa partnership. This study presents a great opportunity to encourage the Canadian government to meet this expectation.
Mr. Chair, I want to submit that a study should help transition Canada from the traditionally firefighting, risk-averse and follow-the-crowd diplomatic posture to a more systematic, proactive and strategic approach to Africa.
Let me briefly outline what a systematic, proactive and strategic approach to Africa may look like.
A systematic approach to Africa requires a bipartisan policy framework that leverages Canada's strengths and aligns Canadian interests with Africa's priorities. Luckily for Canada, many of the policy priorities that the African Union has identified in “Agenda 2063” align nicely with Canadian interests. I will recommend that the Canadian government study that document and its progress reports carefully. The Canadian government can then use the Canada-AU high-level dialogue to agree on the mutually beneficial quality priorities that reflect long-term strategic interests of Canada and Africa. One such enduring interest is the maintenance and protection of the rules-based international order that has served both Canada and Africa very well in the last 70 years. Canada needs to work with the AU to counter threats posed by illiberal regimes to this order.
A proactive Canadian approach to Africa means better reorganization and investment in Canadian field missions and the Africa branch. Our missions in Africa and the Africa branch are woefully understaffed and spread too thin in Africa. For instance, we have just one foreign service officer, plus the ambassador, in the Canadian mission to the African Union in Ethiopia. These two individuals are supposed to engage with over 1,700 AU staff and nearly 120 embassies in Addis Ababa. How are these individuals supposed to do it? Maybe they are magicians.
Understaffing like this is part of the reason we are generally perceived in Africa as very cheap on the diplomatic front. We need to invest in Global Affairs Canada and help it reform some of its outdated practices, such as the division of Africa into sub-Saharan Africa and Arab Africa.
Honourable Chair, a strategic approach to Africa entails identifying the policy areas where Canada can make meaningful impact on the ground. Allow me to highlight a few of these areas.
Number one, leverage Canada's linguistic advantage in partnership with the African Union to nurture a new generation of African leaders who embody shared Canadian and African values as outlined in “Agenda 2063”.
Number two, utilize Canada's experience in conducting peaceful political transitions and multiculturalism to help African countries manage elections and diversity better.
Number three, leverage Canada's educational assets to help African states develop training programs that can transform Africa's youthful population into a demographic dividend.
Finally, capitalize on Canada's agricultural expertise and technological advancements and Africa's vast arable lands and young workforce to enhance food security and fight climate change.
Mr. Chair, it is my hope that this study marks the beginning of a new era, one where we act smartly, play to our strengths, stop hiding behind others and put our money where our mouth is to strengthen Global Affairs to do its best work.
Thank you so much, Mr. Chair, for the opportunity to contribute to this study.