German Chancellor Olaf Scholz this weekend makes his third visit to sub-Saharan Africa in two years, as conflicts elsewhere highlight the growing importance of an energy-rich region in which Berlin has traditionally had little involvement.<\/p>\n
He will visit major energy producer Nigeria, as well as Ghana, with migration flows and instability in West Africa also on his agenda.<\/p>\n
Much of the impetus for the trip has come from the realization that Germany – and Europe – need Africa more than it thought, said Greens legislator Anton Hofreiter.<\/p>\n
“People realized we needed allies against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” he said. “And suddenly we noticed they weren’t necessarily on our side… That was a rude awakening.”<\/p>\n
The war between Israel and Hamas has leant new urgency in particular to the energy aspect of the trip.<\/p>\n
After Russia’s invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Germany turned to Qatar for the liquefied gas it needs to fuel its industries. Potential disorder across the Middle East has provided a timely reminder of the importance of diversifying energy sources.<\/p>\n
Oil is Nigeria’s single largest export to Germany, and officials are considering adding gas to that mix.<\/p>\n
“Oil-exporting countries face the question of whether they want to flare all that gas off or use it,” a German official said in connection with the visit. “We are very open to discussing with Nigeria whether we can buy gas too.”<\/p>\n
But to make that happen, chronic underinvestment in Nigeria’s energy sector would need to be looked at – something the as-yet unidentified business delegation accompanying Scholz may be able to help address.<\/p>\n
They may also see Nigeria, with a population of 200 million, and Ghana, with 30 million, as sources of the labour that Germany badly needs as its own population increasingly ages out of the workforce.<\/p>\n
“Especially in Ghana there are IT experts that German medium-sized companies are desperate to get hold of,” said Stefan Liebing, a consultant and former head of the German African Business Association.<\/p>\n
Some in Berlin hope that Germany, without France’s baggage as the former colonial power in West Africa, will also be in a position to play a constructive political role in a region that has been marked by instability this year.<\/p>\n
Last year, Germany returned several of the Benin Bronzes, sculptures from the Benin kingdom in modern-day Nigeria, a gesture seen as an attempt to win favour on a continent where anger at European colonial crimes still smoulders.<\/p>\n
For Scholz, under pressure at home from critics who say that he is failing to get to grips with the scale of illegal migration, the trip will also be a chance to advance his argument that creating economic opportunities in the source countries is the best way of reducing migrant flows.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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