AFRICAN DIPLOMACY: THE STRATEGY AND SEARCH FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA

Résumé

The desire to maintain peace and security that guarantee free flow of trade, productivity and people, as well as coexistence, is the key bedrock of African diplomacy. African diplomacy predates recorded history. Nevertheless, as the framework upon which peaceful intercommunal/tribal and inter-governmental relationships rest, its relevance to the socio-economic development of Africa cannot be ignored. Although challenged by geographical location, leadership instability, war and conflicts and differences in socio-political cum cultural ideologies, African leaders have made stringent efforts in terms of making prompt innovations towards enhanced inter-governmental relations; yet, not much have been achieved, as the continent is still bedeviled by myriads of new global challenges. Therefore, as the contemporary international system becomes more interconnected, there is the urgent need for for a collective and shared responsibility amongst Africans and their leaders, in order to champion and chart a more practical and new means of coexistence in this era of globalization. This paper seeks a review of its foreign policy and a closer integration.