What Does the UK have to Offer Africa?

The UK left the EU on 31 January. It now must work furiously to get trade deals into place by the end of 2020 when the trade deals with the EU lapse. Inevitably, therefore, we are hearing a lot of good things promised by the UK to its African ex-colonies. Boris Johnson has promised that the UK’s new immigration policy will put “people before passports” in a speech to the UK-Africa Investment conference in mid-Jan in London which attracted more than 24 African presidents and prime ministers (including President Ramaphosa on his way to the World Economic Forum). The prime minister said the UK was the “ultimate one-stop-shop” for trade, education and tech, and promised that people from African countries could benefit from the still-to-be detailed changes to the immigration system after Brexit, which will end the free movement of people to and from EU nations. Johnson also promised a sustainable approach to trade and aid, saying the UK had almost eliminated its use of coal for energy as it moved to greener sources.