The African Development Bank is one of the most aggressive advocates of regional integration.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
The way forward for Africa is investment.
One of the challenges for sub-Saharan Africa is that markets are of modest size. This makes regional integration important.
It is my firm belief that action on the issues that matter for Africa must emerge from within Africa itself.
It is fair to say that Africa has become a major force in moving the world towards multi-polarity, an important emerging market that helps promote global economic recovery and integration, and an outstanding representative of diverse civilizations in the world.
It is important to nurture any new ideas and initiatives which can make a difference for Africa.
Africa is not for the weak-hearted: infrastructure issues are there. The middle class is absent in most of the countries. We have to cater to the low end of the market to grow.
Obviously, South Africa is our most important market, but we are also gradually increasing our presence throughout East and West as well as North Africa. It is a continent with a lot of potential which we plan to tap into.
Some people think African states cannot be trusted with the cookie jar. But there are absolutely good NGOs who have this feeling of human solidarity and who also recognize that their work can only be supplementary to the government.
World Bank is a bank that's focused on economic development and poverty alleviation.
In Africa today, we recognise that trade and investment, and not aid, are pillars of development.