Horn of Africa

Horn of Africa

News: Recently, first ‘China-Horn of Africa Peace, Governance and Development Conference.’ was held.

What is The Horn of Africa?
• The Horn of Africa is a peninsula in Northeast Africa.
• Located on the easternmost part of the African mainland, it is the fourth largest peninsula in the world.
• It lies along the southern boundary of the Red Sea and extends hundreds of kilometres into the Guardafui Channel, Gulf of Aden, and Indian Ocean.
• The Horn of Africa is equidistant from the equator and the Tropic of Cancer.
• The Horn contains such diverse areas as the highlands of the Ethiopian Plateau, the Ogaden desert, and the Eritrean and Somalian coasts.
• The Horn of Africa denotes the region containing the countries of Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia.

Recent Chinese projects in the region:

Projects
• 2035 Vision - Aims to transform health sector, alleviate povery
• 4 Resolutions - The Dakar Action Plan, China Africa Co- op Vision 2035, Sino African Declaration on CC, Declaration of the 8th Ministerial Conference of FOCAC
• Donation of Vaccines to Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Somalia
• Green Development, capacity building, people to people contact

Overview of some of China’s work in the region across different sectors:

Infrastructure
• Fully funded African Union HQ in Addis Ababa
• Railway project connecting Mombasa-Nairobi
• A viable military hardware market in Ethiopia

Geostrategic Projects
• China’s first and only military base outside its mainland is in Djibouti.
• In 2022, China hinted its willingness to develop Eritrea’s coast which would connect to China’s investments in land-locked Ethiopia.

Financial Assistance
• Ethiopia, is one of the top five African recipients of Chinese investments, and also has a debt of almost USD 14 billion.
• China accounts for 67% of Kenya’s bilateral debt.
• China is also interested in minerals such as gold, iron-ore, precious stones, chemicals, oil and natural gas in Ethiopia. South Sudan, a source for petroleum products, has had continued Beijing investment in the industry since the latter’s initial entry in 1995.
China’s presence here is a cause of worry for India. It has direct bearing on India’s security and well-being and thus India must play a proactive role to the prevailing conditions and power dynamics in the Horn of Africa.