The Gulf Research Centre (GRC) is organising a conference in Cape Town, South Africa entitled ’The Gulf and Africa: Developing a new Strategic Partnership’ on February 24 and 25 next year.

The conference is part of the Gulf-Africa Research Program of the centre and is sponsored by Best Asset Class.  

The forum aims to cement the Gulf-Africa relationship by offering an in-depth assessment of the status of ties and a clear outlook to where the relationship could be heading.

It will become an annual GRC event which will bring together the key leaders and personalities from business, academia, government and media to outline the main issues and challenges facing more constructive relations between the key regions of Africa and the Gulf.

The main purpose of this event will be to propose a set of policy recommendations that can ensure that the opportunities in closer Africa-Gulf ties are highlighted and adequately responded to.

It is the centre’s belief that in addition to traditional partners like the United States and Europe and emerging relations with Asian countries, the GCC states must also look further towards Africa as a future essential economic and political partner.

Gulf companies have been showing greater interest in investing in Africa. According to UNCTAD World Investment Report 2007, foreign direct investments to Africa amounted to $36 billion in 2006 which was a new record level.

It appears that the main reasons for this surge especially in extractive industries, is due to the Gulf investments besides the ones made by China.

Another striking example of the growing relationship between the Gulf States and Africa is well illustrated by the amount of aid the Gulf region sends every year.

By 2006, close to $1.4 billion out of the $2.2 billion capital of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa had been donated by the GCC states, showing a true commitment to the development of Africa, said the centre.-TradeArabia News Service