Daily Times

The third and final part focuses both on avenues of trade as well as bottlenecks which are hindering commercial ties for Pakistani investors. Africa imports 40 percent of its grain from Russia. This is despite 65 percent of global arable land being on the African continent.

This presents significant trade and investment opportunities, driven by the continent’s diverse climatic conditions, soil types, and farming practices. By 2050, it’s projected that a majority of Africa’s population will reside in urban areas, a shift that will more than triple the number of urban dwellers from current figures. This urban demographic typically favours convenient food choices, such as prepared meals or restaurant dining, which aligns with their lifestyle.

Additionally, rising incomes in these urban areas are leading to increased purchasing power. This economic upliftment results in a demand for a more varied diet, with a growing preference for animal-based proteins, prepared cereals, fats, sugars, and fruits and vegetables. However, current production trends suggest that Africa’s own agricultural output may not suffice to meet the nutritional demands of its expanding population. This gap between demand and domestic production highlights the immense potential for exporting agricultural products to Africa, catering to its evolving and expanding market needs. Pakistan, as done by China and India, can rent the fertile agricultural land in Africa to produce food not only for its own growing needs but also for re-export to earn valuable foreign exchange. Additionally, this can also be done through joint ventures in which the profit is shared between the Pakistani and African partners.

The pharmaceutical sector in Africa presents a substantial opportunity for Pakistan. WHO reports from 2021 indicate that African countries imported about 70-90 percent of their drugs in 2019, valued at an estimated $14 billion. Despite representing nearly 25 per cent of the global demand for vaccines, Africa produces only 0.1 per cent. Pakistan remains a minor player in pharmaceutical manufacturing, with exports primarily in generics and limited to a few markets. However, there is a significant untapped potential for Pakistani pharmaceutical exports. From an export value of US $44.4 million in 2003, Pakistan’s pharmaceutical exports grew to US $218 million in 2019 and further to US $250 million by 2021.

Without a dedicated officer studying and analyzing the market as well as identifying items of trade and investment, it is not possible to enhance trade with Africa.

African nations like Nigeria, Congo, Ethiopia, and South Africa are key markets for pharmaceuticals and surgical instruments. Pakistan’s major export destinations in Africa currently include Nigeria ($31.28 million), South Africa ($161.67 million), and Kenya ($310.99 million). Expanding Pakistan’s pharmaceutical exports to these and other emerging African economies/markets could notably enhance the industry’s growth and contribute substantially to Pakistan’s exports to the region. With the increasing middle class and rapid urbanization in Africa, the Information Technology Services sector has witnessed substantial growth in recent years. Customers in Africa are looking for IT services to improve their business processes and increase efficiency. Many businesses in Africa being small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are looking for cost-effective solutions that can help them improve their operations. With some institutionalized marketing, Pakistan being one of the largest Freelance IT service providers can tap this growing market.

While many of Africa’s active IT companies are U.S.-owned, India is also expanding its digital footprint in Africa. The continent’s largest digital project, the Pan African e-Network with a cost of $125 million, was launched in 2004, following the vision of former Indian President APJ Abdul Kalam. This project aims to connect Africa’s 54 countries with India and with each other, facilitating knowledge sharing in telecoms, medicine, health, resource mapping, and e-governance. As of 2022, the project is being implemented in phases and includes 48 member countries of the African Union.

Pakistan Software Houses Association, (P@SHA), in collaboration with the Ministry of IT & Telecom (MoITT), Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB), and Tech Destination Pakistan, participated in GITEX Africa held in Morocco recently. The Chairman of P@SHA believes that Pakistani IT exports to Africa can exceed $1 billion in 2-3 years. However, in order to achieve this target, Pakistan needs to enhance its visibility and promote its IT industry through trade missions, exhibitions, and marketing initiatives. In addition to that NADRA is assisting Somalia, Kenya, Sudan and Nigeria with the state-of-the-art national registration database. Such services can be offered to other African countries as well. Despite the unlimited opportunities that Africa presents, the continent also presents its own unique set of challenges. The challenges can be summarized as follows.

Limited Interactions at Institutional level: Limited engagement at the leadership level means that such connections cannot be leveraged to promote the interests of Pakistan. It is important to note that around 50 African countries have Presidential systems, which are centralized in nature. If the President agrees to something, it is promptly implemented by the system. In such a scenario, leadership-level contacts assume greater significance, which could unlock potential areas of cooperation and viable projects.

Since 2014 the only high-level visit from Pakistan was that of former President Mamnoon Hussain, who visited Nigeria in 2014. Except Senegalese President in 2016, there has hardly been any visit by an African Head of State/Government to Pakistan in recent years. Of the 54 African nations, 27 are members of the OIC. Pakistan also holds an observer status of the African Union, which it utilizes to develop high-level contacts with the African leadership. There exists a lot of goodwill for Pakistan for its role in UN peacekeeping. Ibrahim Yacoubou, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Niger is a graduate of the Foreign Service Academy and Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of Tanzania attended public management course in Pakistan in 1988.

Thin Diplomatic and Commercial Presence: Pakistan has diplomatic missions in just 20 countries in Africa, out of which 18 are currently functional (Sudan and Somalia are closed). The rest of the 35 countries in Africa are concurrently accredited to our ambassadors. Given the meagre human and financial resources provided to the Ambassadors, it is not possible to cover the whole of Africa adequately.

In contrast, India has 47 Missions in 55 African countries, while Türkiye has set up 45 Embassies in Africa. Out of 20 Pakistan Missions in Africa, only nine have Commercial posts, of which only seven are operational. It is ironic that even after launching Engage Africa and Look Africa policies the Government of Pakistan, did not realise that without the presence of Commercial Officers in all 20 Pakistan Missions, trade and investment promotion would continue to face obstacles. Without a dedicated officer studying and analyzing the market as well as identifying items of trade and investment, it is not possible to enhance trade with Africa.

Attitudinal and Mindset Challenges: While limited interaction and thin diplomatic and commercial presence in Africa are challenges, they are rooted in attitudinal biases and stereotype mindsets. Diplomatic and commercial officials are not provided with sufficient resources to carry out their work. Even proposals sent by diplomatic missions in Africa for high-level visits are put on the back burner. Africa is the lowest in the priority list of MOFA and MOC. Africa Divisions are inadequately staffed in MOFA & MOC. Posting to Africa Division in MOFA, MOC, or Pakistan embassies in Africa is not considered as sought-after posting. These attitudinal issues while rooted in our excessive focus on geo-economics are also because of our colonial mindset towards people of colour. Our perception of Africa is shaped by a complex mix of historical, media-driven, and socio-economic factors. This perception carrying myths and stereotypes is primarily moulded under the influence of Western media depiction of Africa.

Banking Issues: The lack of banking channels is a major problem in enhancing trade and investment relations with Africa. There is no Pakistani bank in Africa, nor is there an African bank in Pakistan. This leads to difficulties in the opening of Letters of Credit and transfer of funds. Some transactions are currently taking place through European banks, which have a presence in Africa. For instance, many Pakistani businessmen exporting rice to African countries do so through France, which has longstanding relations with a number of African countries dating back to colonial times.

No Direct Air Connectivity: Pakistan’s national carrier does not operate flights to African countries. There is only one African carrier, Ethiopian Airlines, which has recently started direct flights between Adis Ababa and Pakistan. Even though Ethiopian Airlines provides connections between Adis Ababa and many African capitals, it is no substitute for direct connections between Pakistan and African capitals, except Adis Ababa.

(Concluded)

Alizar Sajjad is law student at University of London. Saud Bin Ahsen works at public policy think tank.