#sub-Saharan region of Morocco

[internationaldayofargania]

The multifaceted argan tree.

The argan tree (Argania spinosa) is a native species of the sub-Saharan region of Morocco, in the southwest of the country, which grows in arid and semiarid areas. It’s the defining species of a woodland ecosystem, also known as Arganeraie, which is rich in endemic flora. It is resilient to a harsh environment under water scarcity, risk of erosion and poor soils.

This ecosystem of extraordinary beauty is not only important in terms of conservation, but also for research and socio-economic development, due to its forestry, agricultural and livestock use.

The argan tree woodlands provide forest products, fruits and fodder. The leaves and the fruits are edible and highly appreciated, as is the undergrowth, and constitute a vital fodder reserve for all herds, even in periods of drought. The trees are also used as fuelwood for cooking and heating.

The world-renowned argan oil is extracted from the seeds and has multiple applications, especially in traditional and complementary medicine and in the culinary and cosmetic industries.

[ask-whitepearl-and-steven]

DISCLAIMER: I know this is not the best way to split up the world!! This is not an exact science. I chopped up the regions arbitrarily and am aware that many of them overlap. This is an armchair survey. Please don't overthink it - just vote on whatever feels right!

[qualcosadelgenere]

A "DESERT LION" NAMES ANALYSIS + name meanings related hcs PT.2

DISCLAIMER: if any of the information reported here is wrong or even just partially incorrect/imprecise, feel free to let me know; as my main sources for this analysis were Wikipedia and baby names sites (lol).

Messer Jassim <English Wiki> (Mansur Jasim/Messa Jassim <alternative dub names>):

Mansur Jassim

Mansur (Messer is apparently a surname and Messa doesn't even exist(?)) is a male Arabic name that means "He who is victorious".

Jassim is an Arabic name/surname. (Couldn't find the meaning.)

Headcanons:

Succeeding in his set goals and dreams is a very essential part of his life. He puts great importance on winning and is generally very competitive. He has a hard time forming long-lasting friendships due to this side of his personality.

His parents, unlike Nasser's, tend to encourage him to be less focused on beating others and more on doing things he actually enjoys for himself. His relationship with his teammate is a conflicted one.

On one hand, Nasser is a pleasant guy to be around, always ready to assist or to share a few jokes with. On the other one though, Messer can't really bring himself to relate to his struggles. He doesn't understand how someone could resent parents whose only wish is for you to be your best version; for you to be ambitious and successful.

He didn't bond with anyone in particular, but he tends to spend most of the time with Far, who happens to be his roommate.

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Zack Abdullah <English Wiki> (Zack Abdulla <alternative dub names>):

Zakariya 'Zack' Abdullah

Zack is sometimes a given name, but more often it's a short form of the Biblical name Zechariah (in this case probably of the Arabic form, Zakariya) and its meaning is "God/YHWH has remebered".

Abdullah is an Arabic Muslim given name/surname which means "servant of Allah".

Headcanons:

Zack grew up in a large family: his mom, his dad, three sisters, and four brothers (including himself).

Zack's family originally hails from Casablanca, Morocco, but they relocated to Qatar in search of better job opportunities. With some financial assistance from Zack's grandparents and some personal sacrifices, they were able to secure stable employment at a local camel farm. Zack's father, who had experience working with dromedaries in Morocco, found the job to be a perfect fit.

Despite their efforts, they still fall under the lower middle-class category by Qatari standards*. As a result, Zack and his siblings had to start working from a young age to support the family.

Growing up among the animals, Zack spent his free time playing football and caring for them. He greatly admires his father and shares a strong bond with his mother and siblings.

Zack is extremely outgoing, friendly, and open-minded as a result of interacting with people from all walks of life. He easily makes friends and is generally well-liked. However, he often feels the need to hide his feelings of inadequacy behind a facade of happiness and laughs, because most of his friends come from well-off families with high social status, and hanging out is a constant reminder of his own financial limits and racial status.

His closest friends are Bjorn, Majidi, and Djamel. He gets along also with Sulai and Adel, with whom he has more of a love-hate relationship. (Adel once referred to him as impossible to ignore and to this day Zack wonders if it was meant to be a compliment or not.)

*(North African Expats are considered to be racially inferior to Gulf Arabs; with them only coming second to Westerners in the class system, even though they're primarily Muslim and from neighboring regions. The apparent reasons for this are a widespread sentiment of anti-blackness and a general dislike for Africans, more specifically sub-Saharan, immigrants).

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Majidi Ismail <English Wiki> (Majdi Ismail <alternative dub names>):

Majid Ismail

Technically speaking Majidi is an Iranian surname; the Arabic name equivalent would be spelled as Majid. It means "noble", "glorious", and "magnificent".

Ismail is an Arabic given name/middle name/surname and patronymic, that literally translates to "heard by God". It's also the name of Ibrahim(Abraham)'s son.

Headcanons:

He's a very self-assured little guy, as the only male sibling to four sisters he grew up spoiled and pampered.

Scaring(courting?) girls with the little animals he catches in the desert is his biggest hobby and simultaneously his sisters' biggest pet peeve. They tried everything in their power to stop the ever-increasing toll of his victims but to no avail.

"Why can't you impress girls like a normal person, Majidi?"

Fun fact: the moment he catches a fever his chaotic personality is gone, replaced by the meekest and quietest boy you have ever seen.

His mom knows it sounds bad out loud, but sometimes she wishes he'd get sick more often. It's just so nice to have a little quiet with five teenage children around from time to time.

He considers Zack, Rajab, Nasser, and Bjorn his best friends on the team. He doesn't really get along with Hassan, and even if he'd rather die than admit it, it's most likely due to a tiny, small, minuscule flicker of envy that burns in his gut whenever his teammate effortlessly charms the girls he tried to court(scare?) before.

Hassan, sad but true, couldn't care less.

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Talal Hamad <English Wiki> (Talal Hamad <alternative dub names>):

Talal Hamad

Talal is an Arabic given name and surname that means "admirable" and "nice".

Hamad or Hamda is an Arabic given name and surname, meaning "to praise" or "one who praises", "much praising".

Headcanons:

Talal is too nice for his own good, always praising others and being kind even when people are not in return.

He's also a little bit of a chatterbox, never really stopping talking, but thank god he has an array of aunties who are more than willing to listen to his latest gossip. They're the ones who instilled in him the dream of entering the Middle East's best TV station.

He'd love to work for Al Jazeera since it's one of two main TV stations in his country and it's also pretty popular on an international level.

He bonded quickly with Sulai and Seiyd. Little Rajab is too nice not to like him and Adel's maternal uncle is one of the managing directors of Al Jazeera, so better to have him as a friend rather than as an enemy, right?

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Hassan Ahmed <English Wiki> (Hasan Ahmed/Hassan Amed <alternative dub names>):

Hassan Ahmed

Hassan (also Hasan) is an Arabic given name that means "handsome" or "good", or "benefactor". As a surname, instead, Hassan may be Arabic, Irish, Scottish, or Jewish.

Ahmed which is the variant of the name/surname Ahmad, means "Highly Praised”.

Headcanons:

He is widely regarded as extremely handsome.

Throughout his life, he has benefited from an inherent advantage due to his looks (pretty privilege), receiving praise for even the most minor accomplishments. As an only child to a wealthy family, his birth was considered miraculous due to his mother's health-related issues. Consequently, he has been showered with affection and has developed an inflated sense of self-worth, perpetually reinforced by those around him.

He's kind of a narcissist, so he doesn't let people get too close if not solely on a superficial level.

The closest thing he has to a genuine friendship is with Adel; it's a relationship primarily based on mutual teasing and banter (which, according to Zack, borders on flirting 98% of the time, however, both parties disagree.).

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Khalfan Jibril <English Wiki> (Khalfan Jibril/Halfan Djibril <alternative dub names>):

Khalfan Jibril

Khalfan is primarily a male given name of Swahili origin that means "successor"

Jibril (also Djibril) is an Arabic variant of the name Gabriel (the archangel), therefore meaning "God is my strength", and a common Arabic given name and surname.

Headcanons:

Khalfan can be described as a greatly resilient person, always reluctant to give up what he believes is important.

He comes from a family of artists: his grandad was a famous painter and his daughter, Khalfan's mother, inherited his great talent.

He was not exactly gifted with the same artistic abilities, but he knows a great deal about many art forms and is well aware of their historical and social significance.

He aspires to work in art-related fields and is supported in this dream by his family, particularly his proud grandfather who is moved by his grandson's passion for preserving artworks.

His closest buddies are Musa and Yusuf. He enjoys the latter just a smidge more due to their shared love for tradition and Qatari/Arab culture.

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Rajab Ismail <English Wiki> (Rajab Ismail <alternative dub names>):

Rajab Ismail

Rajab is an Arabic given name that corresponds to the seventh month of the Islamic calendar which is known as Rajab.

Ismail (see Majid Ismail).

Headcanons:

His parents are very religious, hence, his upbringing was very religion-oriented.

They don't support his passion for writing, especially because some of the social issues he's keen on featuring in his novel stem from exasperated and distorted religious beliefs, and his parents find it very hard to critique such things.

Furthermore, due to his youthful appearance, individuals in his environment such as teachers and family friends tend to dismiss his ideas, believing him to be too young to comprehend the depth of his convictions. Consequently, Rajab frequently feels mocked and ridiculed for his beliefs, leading to a significant struggle with not being taken seriously.

He finds Majid funny and he also gets along well with Zack and Talal. He looks up to Adel and Nasser because he deems the first to be very intelligent and mature for his age and the latter to be reliable and confident.

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Adel Siddique <English Wiki> (Adel Siddique/Adel Shteik <alternative dub names>):

Adil Siddique

There are two different names that are transliterated as 'Adel' and which one it is depends on the pronunciation:

1.) Adel [ˈɑːdəl] (Germanic given name of ancient European origins, evolved from north-western languages; meaning "noble" "nobility" "elite".)

2.) Adil [ˈʕaːdɪl, ˈʕæːdel] (often transliterated as Adel, is a variation itself of the name Adel; an Arabic male name (common in the Muslim world) that originates from the word "Adl", meaning "fairness" and "justice".)

Siddiq/Siddique is an Islamic term and is given as an honorific title. It means "truthful" and it denotes a descendance from someone named Siddique.

Headcanons:

As his name suggests, Adel has a strong sense of justice paired with (sometimes brutal) honesty.

Even though he comes from a horrendously rich and privileged family, social injustices have always been acknowledged in his family as his father and mother are both very intellectual and intelligent people.

For him, it's important to use the privilege he was born with to fight against inequality and ensure that everyone has equal opportunities in life, and this topic will often come up in his movie productions.

His closest friends are Sulai (best friend) and Hassan. Zack is the equivalent of a human mosquito, but he's passable (when he shuts up). He also respects Rajab a lot for his desire to write about their country's social issues and wishes to be less intimidating in his younger eyes.

I also wanted to mention Adel's self-esteem.

Although he's very confident and capable of standing up for himself, he struggles with his physical appearance. Ever since he was a child, he realized that his darker skin and facial features did not conform to the standard of beauty in his country (I like to think he has Somali ancestry somewhere in his family, perhaps his father's grandad?).

Other children had lighter skin, straighter hair, and less full lips, which made him feel different. Additionally, when he started playing football at a national level, he experienced subtle racism from his own people. Despite fitting in and looking rather Qatari, he didn't feel equally accepted by the Qatari public, making him feel like he didn't fully belong.

That explains his attachment to wearing oversized and dark sunglasses as they somewhat mask his ethnic features and give him an advantage when controlling emotions.

In other words, they help him feel less self-conscious.

[whileiamdying]

Artist Profiles: Hasna El Becharia

Angel Romero June 10, 2016

Hasna el Becharia

Hasna el Becharia is a female Gnawa multi-instrumentalist. She was born in 1951 in Béchar (formerly known as Colomb-Béchar, a garrison town during the time of the French colonization). This town in southwestern Algeria is a fertile musical ground, with styles such as Diwan, Foundou and the popular Haddawi repertoire to celebrate Arab-Berber weddings of this sub-region.

The daughter and grand-daughter of Gnawa musicians, she plays popular Saharan traditional songs and personal compositions. In 1972, she began to play by herself. With three friends of hers, including Zorah and Kheira who are still singing by her side, singing and playing drums and tambourines. Hasna played traditional desert tunes on the acoustic guitar. They became successful very quickly, playing at weddings, banquets, etc. Everybody wanted to hear Hasna and her pals. During their performance, people sang along all the songs. It was so noisy that Hasna began to play the electric guitar to be heard. At that moment, she became really famous. Beyond the little town of Bechar, her name was known all over the south of Algeria. Algerian producers tried to make her record some tunes on a tape recorder, but she refused because she didn’t trust them.

In less than 4 years, Hasna and her band built their own legend. In 1976, they were the guest stars of a great concert in Bechar, organized by the Union of Algerian Women, in front of a female audience.

She arrived in France in January 1999 when she was invited to a festival called “Women of Algeria. She was one of the two new-comers who emerged from this festival. Fascinated by her music, the organizers of the festival decided to put her on stage every night, although it was originally planned that she would only play one evening. Quickly, rumors spread throughout Paris about this incredible female guitar player from the desert. Journalists and producers showed up and the prestigious French newspaper Libération published an article about her.

Hasna decided to stay in Paris because her situation was too difficult in Algeria. In spite of singing about the Prophet, she did not conform with tradition. She is too free and does not accept the old fashioned patriarchal customs that still rule in her country.

The guimbri and karkabas (two instruments masterfully played by Hasna) are the pillars of North African black music. Hasna creates a powerful and rough guimbri sound and she has an astonishing sense of rhythm.

Like numerous Algerian Gnawa musicians, Hasna takes her roots in the popular wedding repertoire. In addition to guimbri and karkabas, she plays electric guitar, ud, darbuka, bendir and even banjo. At the age of 51, Hasna recorded her first album. She composed the majority of her songs in France. By no means corrupted by stage or studio performance, she took advantage of these new experiences to explore the sound of guitars, vocal timbres on different tonalities, to improvise and make new encounters. In order to make her recording, the producers brought together great musicians from Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Niger.

[supremebirdbracket]

Two vultures with unusual diets—a bone-eating vulture vs a fruit-loving omnivore!

Bearded vultures seem to have achieved Tumblr fame, and just how much fame that is will be put to the test in this bracket! These vultures have a wide but sparse distribution across Eurasia, occurring in Spain, Morocco, East and Southern Africa, and Western and Central Asia. They greatly prefer mountainous regions. They weigh 4.5–7.8 kg (9.9–17.2 lb) and have wingspans of of 2.31–2.83 m (7 ft 7 in – 9 ft 3 in). Their plumage appears red or orange, but is actually naturally white. They achieve these bright colors by preening colorful dirt into their feathers, and the color is theorized to be a status symbol. Females, which are larger and more dominant, are more brightly dyed. Bearded vultures’ diets are up to 90% bone; it is mostly chicks that eat skin and meat. Adults can crack bones up to the size of a lamb’s femur with their powerful beaks, and break larger ones by dropping them on rocks. They are considered Near Threatened overall but are heavily endangered in Europe due to habitat loss, collisions with power lines, poisoning, and hunting.

Exceedingly unusual among vultures, palm-nut vultures eat primarily fruit—specifically, those of the oil palm and Raffia palm! The rest of their diet is made up of small animals, invertebrates, and sometimes carrion. They live in the forests and savannah of sub-Saharan Africa. They are the smallest Old World vultures, weighing 1.3–1.7 kg (2.9–3.7 lb) and having wingspans averaging 1.5 m (59 in). Also called vulturine fish eagles, they have an eagle-like flight pattern and do not rely on thermals as much as other vultures.

[warsofasoiaf]

No colonization Question

A relative of mine was recently speculating rather wildly about what Africa and the Americas would be like if there had been no European contact/ conquest/ colonization or what have you at all. He seemed to think these areas would be fantastically prosperous and advanced and I did not agree based on my understanding of their past history. I was not really very sure how to respond or put this into words. Wanted to ask what your broad strokes take on this would be? No contact Africa/ Americas would mean they would look like what in 2023? Thanks, great blog all around! 

Thanks for the nice words. 

No contact and no colonization/conquest are two very different things. No contact would mean no diplomatic missions, no trade, no intellectual exchanges, no technology transfer, no defensive agreements, no military alliances, no foreign politicking that spills over into backing rival claimants in territory, etc. I’d argue that no contact in the Americas would be almost impossible - European powers looked for alternative routes to reach the valuable spice trade routes have to go through America at some point. Similarly, Silk Road and spice trade routes will land in East Africa by the Horn by ship, so no contact is also impossible. But let’s ignore what we can. You specified no European contact, so the Arab conquest of Northern Africa still happens and trade cities are established in East Africa. This means that technology transfer still happens in Africa. The Americas, owing to their geographic isolation, are avoided because of some quirk of geography where the European powers are able to secure trade routes to Asia without sailing west. I’m not sure how exactly to go to 2023, since no contact would mean essentially rewriting the 20th century with no United States and making the Cold War wonky, as well as speculating on philosophy arising from these new nations. So this is just a rough draft of civilizations that might rise to be major powers in those areas.

In West Africa, several large empires did arise, like Mali and Songhai. So I would imagine that West Africa would be dominated by the Maghreb in modern-day Morocco and Algeria and further south by the Ashanti Empire in modern day Ghana. They would have relatively sophisticated cultures, military prowess, and especially architecture. Further east, you’d probably have Yoruba states along the Niger Delta which would struggle against Ashanti hegemony, at times being a client state, at times rebelling. In East Africa, you’d probably have a powerful trade kingdom on the Red Sea which would duke it out with expansionism pushing southwards from Ottoman Egypt. Modern-day Somalia and Kenya would probably have city-states and hinterlands, much like our own history they would be powerful trading hubs for ivory and slaves to the Arab world and India. You’d also have city-states further south along the coast, near modern Tanzania. It’d be difficult for a centralized Swahili kingdom to emerge, but if it did, it would be a regional powerhouse that struggled with ethnic differences, much as the East African Federation struggles with today. In South Africa, the Zulu reign supreme as a strong, militarist empire, I don’t see other contenders that could really challenge them, but I’ll admit my knowledge there is limited. Given regular contact with other civilizations and diplomatic ventures, everything from students studying at foreign schools to technology theft, capture in war, and industrial espionage (hey, it worked for Justinian with silkworms), technology is at a rough parity with the civilizations they’re in contact with - especially in capitals and major port cities; there are no Wakandas. My knowledge of sub-Saharan religion is poor, so I’ll let others speculate on how sub-Saharan religions might change in response without having to rely on the mechanics from CK2.

Guns, Germs, and Steel has many flaws, but Diamond is correct in that steel is an incredibly useful metal for civilizational development, both in its utility for warfare and for tool use. Since I understand metallurgy, I’ll primarily be looking at it through that lens. In the Americas, the Andean civilization never developed steelworking, and was typically limited by their terrain (making mobility difficult especially in bulk transport of goods) and lack of high-weight draft animals (llamas only carry around 60 pounds). Plows were very useful in Europe to increase agricultural yield, but don’t really work with terrace farming and no draft animals, so neither agricultural nor transport demands would be a strong driver for metalworking. However, the Andean civilization did have advanced metallurgy in regards to bronze so if the demand for better weaponry and more advanced tools becomes evident, they could develop more advanced bronzemaking techniques due to the very abundant copper in the area. If they start smelting in bulk, then they can start using useful iron from mined ore, and from there, steel. West Mexico similarly had indigenous cultures with advanced metallurgy, primarily for decorative objects like bells. Given that the Mayan Empires fell primarily for reasons of overpopulation, drought, and disease, developing metalworking to improve agricultural yields would be feasible in Mexico, and there are iron and coal resources in the area for a Mesoamerican civilization to develop steel weaponry, so you’d see what we saw in our own history for the Aztecs, a collection of city-states and their hinterlands, perhaps even allying into a sort of Peloponnesian League of sorts in response to external invaders from the north or south.

Further north, in North America, you’d probably have a large civilization building around the Mississippi, and the need for transporting goods over long, vast distances would spur development for boat transport, the lack of draft animals here hurting again. So you’d have a long, narrow civilization, but given how long the Mississippi is, that could be quite vast indeed. In the Northeast, there’s plenty of iron and coal, so if technology transfer of smelting technology happens, the Iroquois Confederacy might turn the area of Pittsburgh into an industrial center just like it was in American history if it extended its control and incorporated the Susquehannock into their people and moved west toward Shawnee territory, but that’s provided they develop the technology to mine and smelt iron and from there alloy out steel. Given the lack of demand to develop these techniques in the most advanced metallurgical civilizations, I don’t think they would develop in technological parity in that regard without major changes from our own history. So metalworking in that regard would be limited mostly to copper, which was mined and used extensively throughout North America.

Thanks for the question, Captain.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

[tawakkull]

ISLAM 101: SPIRITUALITY IN ISLAM: PART 117

The meaning of Tasawwuf

Last Part 12

Among the Sufis who aided Islam with the sword as well as the pen, to quote Reliance of the Traveller were: such men as the Naqshbandi sheikh Shamil al-Daghestani, who fought a prolonged war against the Russians in the Caucasus in the nineteenth century; Sayyid Muhammad ‘Abdullah al-Somali, a sheikh of the Salihiyya order who led Muslims against the British and Italians in Somalia from 1899 to 1920; the Qadiri sheikh ‘Uthman ibn Fodi, who led jihad in Northern Nigeria from 1804 to 1808 to establish Islamic rule; the Qadiri sheikh ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jaza’iri, who led the Algerians against the French from 1832 to 1847; the Darqawi faqir al-Hajj Muhammad al-Ahrash, who fought the French in Egypt in 1799; the Tijani sheikh al-Hajj ‘Umar Tal, who led Islamic Jihad in Guinea, Senegal, and Mali from 1852 to 1864; and the Qadiri sheikh Ma’ al-‘Aynayn al-Qalqami, who helped marshal Muslim resistance to the French in northern Mauritania and southern Morocco from 1905 to 1909.

Among the Sufis whose missionary work Islamized entire regions are such men as the founder of the Sanusiyya order, Muhammad ‘Ali Sanusi, whose efforts and jihad from 1807 to 1859 consolidated Islam as the religion of peoples from the Libyan Desert to sub-Saharan Africa; [and] the Shadhili sheikh Muhammad Ma‘ruf and Qadiri sheikh Uways al-Barawi, whose efforts spread Islam westward and inland from the East African Coast … . (Reliance of the Traveller,863).

It is plain from the examples of such men what kind of Muslims have been Sufis; namely, all kinds, right across the board—and that Tasawwuf did not prevent them from serving Islam in any way they could.

To summarize everything I have said tonight: In looking first at Tasawwuf and Shari‘a, we found that many Qur'anic verses and sahih hadiths oblige the Muslim to eliminate haram inner states as arrogance, envy, and fear of anyone besides Allah; and on the other hand, to acquire such obligatory inner states as mercy, love of one’s fellow Muslims, presence of mind in prayer, and love of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace). We found that these inward states could not be dealt with in books of fiqh, whose purpose is to specify the outward, quantifiable aspects of the Shari‘a. The knowledge of these states is nevertheless of the utmost importance to every Muslim, and this is why it was studied under the ‘ulama of Ihsan, the teachers of Tasawwuf, in all periods of Islamic history until the beginning of the present century.

We then turned to the level of Iman, and found that though the ‘Aqida of Muslims is that Allah alone has any effect in this world, keeping this in mind in everyday life is not a given of human consciousness, but rather a function of a Muslim’s yaqin, his certainty. And we found that Tasawwuf, as an ancillary discipline to ‘Aqida, emphasizes the systematic increase of this certainty through both mudhakara, ‘teaching tenets of faith’ and dhikr, ‘the remembrance of Allah,’ in accordance with the words of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) about Ihsan that “it is to worship Allah as though you see Him.”

Lastly, we found that accusations against Tasawwuf made by scholars such as Ibn al-Jawzi, and Ibn Taymiya were not directed against Tasawwuf in principle, but to specific groups and individuals in the times of these authors, the proof for which is the other books by the same authors that showed their understanding of Tasawwuf as a Shari‘a science.

To return to the starting point of my talk this evening, with the disappearance of traditional Islamic scholars from the Umma, two very different pictures of Tasawwuf emerge today. If we read books written after the dismantling of the traditional fabric of Islam by colonial powers in the last century, we find the big hoax: Islam without spirituality and Shari‘a without Tasawwuf. But if we read the classical works of Islamic scholarship, we learn that Tasawwuf has been a Shari‘a science like tafsir, hadith, or any other, throughout the history of Islam. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said,

“Truly, Allah does not look at your outward forms and wealth, but rather at your hearts and your works” (Sahih Muslim, 4.1389: hadith 2564).

And this is the brightest hope that Islam can offer a modern world darkened by materialism and nihilism: Islam as it truly is; the hope of eternal salvation through a religion of brotherhood and social and economic justice outwardly, and the direct experience of divine love and illumination inwardly.

[ausetkmt]

Each year thousands of migrants make the journey from Western Africa to the Canary Islands

More than 30 migrants may have drowned after their boat sank in the Atlantic Ocean off the Canary Islands, two charities have said.

Walking Borders and Alarm Phone said the boat was carrying around 60 people.

Spanish authorities said rescue workers found the bodies of a minor and a man, and rescued 24 other people - but did not know how many people were onboard.

The incident places fresh scrutiny on Europe's response to migration, after a boat sank off Greece last week.

Helena Maleno Garzon, from Walking Borders, said that 39 people had drowned, including four women and a baby, while Alarm Phone said 35 people were missing. Both organisations monitor migrant boats and receive calls from people on board or their relatives.

The boat sank about 100 miles (160km) south-east of Gran Canaria on Wednesday.

"It's torture to have 60 people, including six women and a baby, waiting for more than 12 hours for a rescue in a flimsy inflatable boat that can sink," Ms Garzon said.

A Spanish rescue service ship, the Guardamar Caliope, was only about an hour's sail from the dinghy on Tuesday evening, Reuters reported, citing Spanish state news agency EFE.

The ship did not aid the dinghy because the operation had been taken over by Moroccan officials, which dispatched a patrol boat that arrived on Wednesday morning, 10 hours after it had been spotted by a Spanish rescue plane, Reuters reports.

The BBC has sent a request for comment to Morocco's interior ministry.

Angel Victor Torres, leader of the Canary Islands region, described the incident as a "tragedy" and called on the European Union to establish a migration policy that "offers coordinated and supportive responses" to the issue of migration.

Although off Africa's western coast, the Canary Islands are part of Spain, and many migrants travel from Africa to the archipelago in the hope of reaching mainland Europe.

The Western Africa-Atlantic migration route is considered one of the world's deadliest, and at least 543 migrants died or went missing on that journey in 2022, according to the UN's International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

IOM said there were 45 shipwrecks on the route during that period, but acknowledged the figure is "probably underestimated" because data is scarce and incomplete.

Most of those making the journey are from Morocco, Mali, Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire and other parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, it said.

Separately, Spanish authorities also rescued more than 160 people from three other boats near the islands of Lanzarote and Gran Canaria overnight on Wednesday and Thursday morning.

The news comes after a migrant boat carrying hundreds of people sank off the Greek coast last week, with at least 78 known to have died, although many more are feared to have drowned.

The UN's human rights office says that up to 500 people are still missing, and the BBC has obtained evidence casting doubt on the Greek coastguard's account of what happened. The coastguard claims that the boat was on a course to Italy and not in need of rescue.

[guideforrugs]

African Rugs and Carpets - A Celebration of Traditional Prints and Artistry

African rugs and carpets are a vibrant and culturally rich addition to the world of textile art. These pieces are not merely floor coverings; they are a testament to the diverse, rich histories and traditions that vary from one African region to another. From the intricate Berber rugs of North Africa to the colorful Kente cloth designs of West Africa, each African rug and carpet tells a story, embodying the aesthetic sensibilities and traditional techniques passed down through generations.

The Origins of African Textile Art

The tradition of textile making in Africa dates back thousands of years. Archaeological finds in Egypt, for example, have uncovered fragments of linen textiles from as far back as 5000 BC. Over the centuries, each region developed its distinct textile practices influenced by local customs, social structures, and available materials.

In North Africa, the Berber populations of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia are renowned for their hand-woven carpets. These are typically made from the wool of local sheep and are distinguished by their geometric patterns, which carry different meanings and symbolize events or aspects of daily life.

Sub-Saharan Africa, with its diverse cultures and histories, showcases a variety of weaving techniques. For instance, the Kente cloth of Ghana is known for its bright colors and intricate patterns. Originally made from silk, the modern Kente cloth is often made from cotton, making it more accessible to the general populace while retaining its cultural significance as a symbol of African identity and pride.

Techniques and Materials

The techniques used in creating African rugs and carpets are as varied as the patterns themselves. Most traditional African textiles are produced using hand-weaving techniques. Among these, the most common are weaving on narrow looms, where strips of fabric are produced and then sewn together. This strip weaving is prevalent in West Africa, especially in the production of Kente cloth.

Materials vary widely depending on local availability and the specific traditions of each community. Wool is prevalent in North Africa, particularly in Morocco, where the high Atlas mountains provide ample sheep for sourcing high-quality wool. In West Africa, cotton is commonly used, reflecting the region's history as a major cotton producer. Some groups also use natural dyes derived from local plants and minerals to color their textiles, adding a layer of natural beauty and regional variation.

Symbolism and Cultural Significance

The patterns and designs seen in African textiles are deeply symbolic. In many cultures, certain patterns or colors are used exclusively in specific contexts, such as royal ceremonies or weddings. For instance, in some cultures, the color indigo is associated with wealth and serenity and is often used in garments and rugs intended for influential figures.

In Moroccan Berber rugs, each pattern or symbol woven into the carpet is a bearer of a particular meaning. Common symbols include diamonds, which represent femininity and fertility; zigzag patterns, which symbolize water; and crosses, which represent the human connection to the universe.

Contemporary Relevance and Challenges

Today, African rugs and carpets continue to be highly sought after globally, not only for their beauty but also for their cultural significance. They are prominently featured in home decor magazines, online platforms, and in the showrooms of high-end interior designers. Moreover, they serve as a source of income for many communities, preserving traditional skills and promoting economic sustainability.

However, the rise in demand has also led to challenges. The commercialization of these traditional crafts risks diluting their cultural significance. Furthermore, as cheaper, machine-made alternatives flood the market, artisans who rely on traditional methods face significant economic pressures.

Preserving Tradition and Embracing Innovation

Efforts are being made to preserve the traditional methods of rug and carpet making. Organizations and cooperatives work within communities to ensure that these skills are passed down through generations. Additionally, some are finding innovative ways to adapt traditional patterns and techniques into products that appeal to modern consumers, thus opening up new markets while retaining cultural integrity.

Conclusion

African rugs and carpets are much more than decorative items. They are a link to the past, carrying the stories and skills of countless generations. As these beautiful textiles adorn homes around the world, they serve as a reminder of the rich cultural tapestry that is Africa. Preserving this heritage is crucial, not only for the sake of tradition but also as a testament to the continent's rich contributions to global culture and art.

[thewul]

Agence pour le Développement Durable des Pays Sahariens et Subsahariens, Ouarzazate

But still that wasn't it, no doubt it could merit a lot of thanks with funding from FNI, Fond National d'Investissements, for what is by all means the best looking governmental agency

And beyond it was not only the development of Southern Morocco, that was a narrow focus, but indeed the wider focus could be the development of the Saharan and Sub Saharan regions and the regional role of Morocco

Agence pour le Développement Durable des Pays Sahariens et Subsahariens is active in the 10 countries of Saharan Africa as well as in the neighboring countries of the region

It has a budget of 132BN USD, and is active through funding in all matters pertaining to sustainable development from drinking water and irrigation, to clean energies, health and education

The building scale may differ or we may have an additional floor, the goal is to establish a campus of all relevant GOV/NGO organizations, including the UN, and contractors involved in the different specialties, and an accommodations center for visiting delegations

Ouarzazate then is the place where ADSS sets up and funds projects which it oversees during and after delivery within its member countries

It has an international airport which overhauling is also a project, Ouarzazate has shaped up during AGR case study as a hub of different projects and a vibrant international city

A business center and commerce fair for southern countries, a space center, a medicine university hospital, it's really interesting to see that transformation take place, because it is that smaller city the action of AGR is much more visible

[internationaldayofargania]

Promote the Argan tree as a pillar of a rich heritage and an ancestral source of resilient and sustainable development.

Local communities make oil and other products from argan trees, farm on the land around the trees, and rear goats who scale the short trees and eat argan nuts. United Nations on International Day of Argania.

[infinitiresearch]

MEA-Adult Diapers Market| Analysis, Growth and Forecast, 2023 – 2027

Originally published on Technavio: MEA-Adult Diapers Market by Distribution Channel, Product, and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2023-2027

The MEA Adult Diapers Market is the subject of comprehensive research and analysis for the forecast period from 2023 to 2027, focusing on key aspects including distribution channels, product variations, and geographical considerations. This analysis provides insights into the evolving dynamics of the adult diapers industry in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region.

**Distribution Channel:** The MEA Adult Diapers Market encompasses various distribution channels through which adult diapers reach consumers. These channels include pharmacies and drug stores, supermarkets and hypermarkets, e-commerce platforms, and healthcare institutions. Pharmacies and drug stores serve as essential retail outlets for adult diapers, offering convenience and accessibility for consumers seeking these products. Supermarkets and hypermarkets contribute to the market by providing a diverse range of adult diaper options and catering to the needs of shoppers during routine grocery visits. E-commerce platforms play a significant role in the MEA region, offering the convenience of online shopping and discreet delivery for adult diapers. Healthcare institutions, including hospitals and clinics, also contribute to the market by providing adult diapers for patients with specific medical needs. The market's dynamics are influenced by the evolving preferences of consumers and the accessibility provided by different distribution channels across the MEA region.

**Product:** The MEA Adult Diapers Market offers various product variations to meet the diverse needs of consumers, including different types, sizes, and features. Disposable adult diapers are a popular choice, offering convenience and ease of use. These diapers are designed for single-use and are disposed of after each use, making them suitable for individuals with active lifestyles. Reusable adult diapers, on the other hand, are designed for multiple uses and can be washed and reused, providing an environmentally friendly option. The market also offers different sizes and features, including products tailored for specific gender preferences and those designed for individuals with varying levels of incontinence. The product landscape is continually evolving with innovations aimed at improving comfort, absorbency, and overall user experience. The market's growth is driven by a combination of factors, including an aging population, increased awareness of incontinence issues, and advancements in product technology.

**Geography:** The MEA Adult Diapers Market spans various geographical regions within the Middle East and Africa, with considerations for key areas such as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa. The GCC countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, represent a significant market with a growing aging population and increasing awareness of healthcare and hygiene needs. North Africa, comprising countries such as Egypt and Morocco, also contributes to the market's growth with a rising focus on health and wellness. Sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria and South Africa, presents opportunities for market expansion driven by population growth and changing demographics. The market's dynamics in each region are influenced by factors such as cultural attitudes towards hygiene, economic development, and the prevalence of incontinence-related issues.

The forecasted period from 2023 to 2027 is marked by an industry-wide emphasis on accessibility, sustainability, and innovation in adult diaper products. The MEA Adult Diapers Market is evolving to meet the demands of consumers seeking reliable and discreet solutions for incontinence issues. Manufacturers are investing in research and development to create products that align with cultural preferences, incorporate sustainable materials, and offer advanced features for enhanced comfort and performance. Innovations in design, materials, and gender-specific products are anticipated to contribute to the market's positive trajectory, addressing the evolving needs of individuals seeking effective and dignified solutions for incontinence across the MEA region.

To Learn deeper into this report , View Sample PDF

In conclusion, the MEA Adult Diapers Market is expected to experience significant growth, driven by diverse distribution channels, product variations, and geographical considerations. The industry's evolution aligns with broader trends in healthcare awareness, aging demographics, and the increasing demand for high-quality adult diaper solutions in the MEA region.

For more information please contact.

[crimechannels]

By • Olalekan Fagbade Good times coming with Fed Govt’s economic policies - IMF makes assessment of Tinubu’s administration The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has backed the economic policies of the President Bola Tinubu's government, saying the country is on the right growth path with the “bold” reforms taken so far by the administration. Speaking yesterday, IMF Mission Chief, Daniel Leigh, said it's commendable that President Tinubu moved quickly with vital changes, including ending petrol subsidy and unifying the exchange rates. “We welcome these initial bold reforms because we see them as paving the way towards stronger and inclusive growth,” he said. Leigh spoke at the ongoing IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings in Marrakech, Morocco during the presentation of the World Economic Outlook. Also, the Economic Counsellor and the Director of Research of the IMF, Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, said he was optimistic that the reforms will accelerate Nigeria’s economic growth. But the country’s growth is projected by the Fund to slide to 2.9 per cent next year from 3.3 per cent this year, and 3.1 per cent in 2025. But, Nigeria needs to increase domestic resource mobilisation to depend less on borrowing, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun said on the sidelines of the event. He believes efficiency in tax collection, payment of due obligations and cost-effective expenditure will help strengthen the economy. While reviewing sub-Saharan Africa’s growth rate, he said: “There is a slight downward revision for the region as a whole. “We are expecting growth at about 3.3 per cent this year and that’s about 0.2 percentage points downward revision. “There is a slight downward revision for next year to about four per cent. “We see African growth at 3.34 per cent and that is above average but it is below the potential that Africa has and it needs to catch up more quickly.” According to him, the “shocks” include higher food and fertilizer prices due to the war in Ukraine, and a funding squeeze that has resulted in limited access to capital. He said the global economy, however, continues to recover from the pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the cost-of-living crisis. To him, the resilience has been remarkable, saying, “Despite war-disrupted energy and food markets and unprecedented monetary tightening to combat decades-high inflation, economic activity has slowed but not stalled. “Even so, growth remains slow and uneven, with widening divergences. The global economy is limping along, not sprinting.” The IMF research director said the latest projections showed that the world economic growth will slow from 3.5 per cent in 2022 to three per cent this year and 2.9 per cent next year. The 0.1 percentage point downgrade for 2024 from July remains well below the historical average, he noted. According to Gourinchas, headline inflation continues to decelerate, from 9.2 per cent in 2022 on a year-over-year basis, to 5.9 per cent this year and 4.8 per cent in 2024. He stressed that fiscal buffers have been eroded in many countries, with elevated debt levels, rising funding costs, slowing growth, and an increasing mismatch between the growing demands on the state and available fiscal resources. These, he noted, leave many countries more vulnerable to crises and demand a renewed focus on managing fiscal risks. The IMF chief added: “Core inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, is also projected to decline, albeit more gradually, to 4.5 per cent next year. “Most countries aren’t likely to return inflation to the target until 2025. “As a result, projections are increasingly consistent with a soft landing scenario, bringing inflation down without a major downturn in activity, especially in the United States, where our forecast increase in unemployment is now modest, from 3.6 per cent to 3.9 per cent by 2025.” #GoodtimescomingwithFGseconomicpoliciesasIMFassesTinubu’sadministration

[shahananasrin-blog]

[ad_1] Earlier this month, an earthquake in the vicinity of Marrakech devastated Morocco, killing thousands and inflicting untold suffering. Last week, two dams in Libya broke, washing thousands more victims into the sea.To the south of those afflicted countries, in Sub-Saharan Africa, seven national governments have been overthrown by military coups in the past three years, with civil war or near-civil war conditions raging across the continent's Sahel region. In most cases, the winners are military or paramilitary forces backed by Russia, mainly through elements of its volatile Wagner Group, which in June staged a failed challenge to Russia's own government at home.As in many other African countries, these new regimes will welcome economic investment and logistical support from China, Russia's "unlimited" ally and the major challenger to what's left of U.S. global hegemony. As far away as South Africa, Moscow itself is peddling soft diplomacy, steadily drawing that country, a regional power and fellow BRICS member, into a de facto anti-Western alliance. Not far beneath the surface, radical Islam in Africa survived the near-total destruction of ISIS in the Middle East and occasionally lashes out in brutal ways.U.S. Africa policy has been literally gun-shy since 18 American soldiers were killed in a disastrous humanitarian intervention in Somalia in 1993. That trauma was reinforced in 2012 by the murder of four Americans during an Islamist attack on American assets in Benghazi, Libya. In the wake of those tragic events, Washington's approach has been a listless parody of itself, with earnest liberal mandarins tweeting moralizing soundbites at African leaders who thumb their noses and park generous, guilt-assuaging U.S. foreign aid payments in Swiss bank accounts.Last August, Secretary of State Antony Blinken unveiled a "new" strategy for Africa that is light on action and heavy on wonky verbiage. It promises, in one typically abstruse passage, to "direct unilateral capability only where lawful" and to spend more time "listening" to the same unstable and ineffective governments that have led the continent into its current dire state.This is not the stuff great powers are made of, and naturally the Biden administration's new policy will change little on the ground. As a joke circulating among African leaders goes, Russia will sell you guns, China will build your economy, and the U.S. will give you gentle lectures about LGBTQ rights. "The U.S. has a soft power problem," admits Alberto Fernandez, a retired diplomat who served as U.S. ambassador to Equatorial Guinea and is now vice president of the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), "we tend to be too bureaucratic and slow especially in an area we don't see as a priority." A woman walks amid debris in the earthquake-hit village of Imi N'Tala on September 19, 2023. Nearly 3,000 people were killed and thousands more injured when a 6.8-magnitude earthquake tit Morocco's Al-Haouz province on September 8. In its aftermath, many worry that the dire living conditions and poor hygiene spell new threats for the survivors. BULENT KILIC / AFP/Getty Images Inevitably, as American influence has receded, our major adversaries have moved in. While U.S. trade with the continent declined by 54 percent between 2007 and 2017, Chinese trade with Africa surged 220 percent in the same period, with Russia's investment in Africa rising 40 percent since 2015. Both Moscow and Beijing host regular summits with leaders of African countries, producing major trade deals and strategic partnerships. Washington has only done so twice in the past decade, producing memos.Why should we care? As recently as 2001, a report published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace concluded that "the United States does not have strong economic or security interests in Africa" and could more or less neglect it. Even if that were true then, it most certainly is not true now."The future of Africa is the future of the world," says Ilya Alam, cofounder of the Ambrosia Foundation, a Florida nonprofit raising funds for medical missions and humanitarian relief in Morocco and Libya, among other African countries. "Freedom in Africa needs a new definition." Today, Africa is home to nearly 1.5 billion people, and the continent's rapidly growing population is projected to reach 25 percent of the world's total by 2050. In the future Africans can either live in a massive emerging market in peace and stability or become migrants fleeing devastation and wont. Pan-African institutions are actively combining the continent into a trade zone that is beginning to adopt common policies. Many of the continent's 54 nations seem likely to coalesce into coherent voting blocs in the United Nations and other global institutions—blocs that may be aligned for or against U.S. interests elsewhere (some African countries are already taking pro-Russian stances on Ukraine despite the absence of any direct interest in the conflict). Africa's resources include vast amounts of oil as well as 30 percent of the world's supply of minerals vital for production in high-tech industries, a major sphere of competition between the U.S. and its adversaries.Smarter U.S. strategic planners than Antony Blinken already consider Africa a battleground in a new Cold War rather than a distant subject for worthless white papers. As in the last Cold War, soft power will be an essential component in regional competition. A return of U.S. influence to Africa could well begin there.Paul du Quenoy is President of the Palm Beach Freedom Institute.The views expressed in this article are the writer's own. [ad_2]

[warningsine]

MADRID, June 21 (Reuters) - More than 30 migrants were feared dead after a dinghy headed for Spain's Canary Islands sank on Wednesday, two migration-focused organisations said, as they criticised Spain and Morocco for not intervening earlier to rescue the vessel's passengers.

The groups, Walking Borders and Alarm Phone, said the dinghy was originally carrying around 60 people. Spain's maritime rescue service confirmed the deaths of two of the dinghy's occupants, a child and an adult man, and said a Moroccan patrol boat had previously rescued 24 people.

Neither Spanish nor Moroccan authorities would confirm how many people had been on board the vessel or how many might be missing.

Walking Borders spokesperson Helena Maleno said in a tweet that 39 people had drowned, without giving further details, while Alarm Phone, which operates a trans-European network supporting rescue operations, said 35 people were missing.

The tragedy sparked criticism from migrant rights activists who accused Spain of omitting its duty of care, as the dinghy was within the country's search-and-rescue region under international law, meaning Madrid should have led the operation instead of Rabat.

At the time of its sinking, the dinghy was located in waters off the coast of Western Sahara. Although Morocco administers a majority of the former Spanish colony, its sovereignty remains under dispute and the United Nations lists it as a non-self governing territory.

Spain's state news agency EFE reported that a Spanish rescue service ship, the Guardamar Caliope, was only 46 km (26 miles) - about an hour's sail - away from the dinghy on Tuesday evening.

The Guardamar Caliope did not aid the dinghy because the operation had been taken over by the Moroccan Rescue Coordination Centre in Rabat, which dispatched a patrol boat that only arrived on Wednesday morning, some 10 hours after it had been spotted by a Spanish rescue airplane, EFE added.

"It's torture to have 60 people, including six women and a baby, waiting for more than 12 hours for a rescue in a flimsy inflatable boat that can sink," Walking Borders' Maleno said.

"Spain has pulled a Greece," she wrote in another tweet, in reference to the recent shipwreck off Greece's Mediterranean coast in which at least 82 people drowned, while describing Europe's border policies as "torture and death".

The EU has said it and member states have been intensifying efforts to establish an "effective, humanitarian and safe" European migration policy.

Morocco's Interior ministry has not responded to a Reuters request for comment and Morocco has not made any official communication about what happened.

The leader of the Canary Islands region, Angel Victor Torres, lamented the deaths on Twitter and said it was "necessary and urgent for the EU to have a Migration and Asylum Pact that offers coordinated and united responses to the migration phenomenon".

The Canary Islands off the coast of West Africa have become the main destination for migrants trying to reach Spain, with a much smaller share trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to the Spanish mainland.

The Atlantic migration route is one of the deadliest in the world. Attempts to reach the Canary Islands' shores saw at least 559 people - including 22 children - die in 2022, according to data from the U.N.'s International Organisation for Migration.

The migrants using the route are typically from several countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

[bdb-india]

Africa – The land of opportunities

 BDB India

 January 23, 2023

Uncategorized

One-fifth of all land on Earth is located in Africa. Africa, which is widely recognised as the continent where the human species first emerged, was home to more than 965 million people in 2007. The population of the continent has changed significantly over time with the current population of 1.4 billion people. This population is equivalent to 16.72% of the total world population and they account for around 2.8% of global economic output. African habitats and landscapes have changed as a result of that population’s changing demographics. Although environmental change is not a recent phenomenon in Africa, it has become more rapid, as it has in many other parts of the world. Amid all the excitement is a wave of young idealistic, social entrepreneurs, coming back or completing their education and remaining in Africa, determined to help shape the future.

Africa, with 54 nations and a combined land area of 30 million km (twelve million square miles), Africa makes up 20% of the planet’s habitable landmass. The overall length of Africa’s coastlines is 41,184 kilometres (25,596 miles). The continent is divided into Northern, Eastern, Western, Southern and central Africa.

In the first two decades of the twenty-first century, Africa as a whole underwent a change with increased democracy, peace, economic growth and prosperity. The world had a new perspective on Africa and developed a keen interest in its development. China and India, two developing nations, took the initiative and influenced this attitude.

Few questions the size of the African continent and its resources, which have a combined land mass larger than that of India, China, the US, and Europe put together. However, only a few people up until recently recognised it as a market that is quickly expanding. Over the past ten years, the continent of Africa has had an economic growth of 5% annually on average.

There are numerous “Africas” with diverse economies, ranging from oil exporters like Nigeria, Angola, Libya, and Algeria to countries like Egypt, South Africa, and Morocco that already have economies that are more diversified and have GDP per capita of well over $2000. Many nations including Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana, and Cameroon, are in the process of shifting from agricultural to manufacturing and service economies.

Commodity prices have influenced Africa’s growth because the continent holds a third of the world’s mineral resources, 10% of the world’s oil reserves, and over 70% of the world’s diamond production. The dependence on a few important commodities, and consequently their global price, has caused a great deal of market uncertainty, particularly with regard to several of Africa’s currencies.

Several countries have been working hard to expand other economic sectors as part of an effort to diversify away from resource-based economies. To date, growth has been seen in manufacturing, services, and tourism in particular (although, whether from ebola, localised terrorism or national political change, growth from the latter source is evidently volatile).

A Glimpse of the Future

The following summarise the key predictions and observations of the present and historical trends, providing a glimpse into Africa’s future:

Africa has a wide range of economies, including low-, lower-middle-, upper-middle-, and high-income nations. The fragility or conflict-affectedness of 18 African nations was graded. By utilising its resources and population, the continent was ready to forge a whole new course for development. Average growth rates in Africa did not yet correspond to this idea. The region of sub-Saharan Africa was predicted to grow by 2.6% in 2019, up slightly from 2.5% in 2018. Nevertheless, Africa had four of the world’s fastest-growing economies: Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Rwanda. Both national and global issues were blamed for the slow growth.

This year, the economies of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Niger, Rwanda, and South Sudan, as well as the island nations of Seychelles and Mauritius, are predicted to develop at rates of GDP growth of 6% or more. Before the pandemic, several sub-Saharan African economies saw record-breaking growth. For instance, over the past 20 years, Ethiopia and Rwanda have had some of the world’s fastest growth rates, averaging more than 7.5 percent annually. However, because income data at the subnational level are occasionally unavailable, it is less certain if the benefits of economic expansion have been distributed fairly among areas within countries.

When we looked more closely at the variables influencing regional disparity, it is discovered that growth was mostly attributable to advancements in the foundational infrastructure that allowed lagging regions to catch up to national levels more quickly. The number of night lights per person more than doubled in the most underdeveloped areas, with oil exporting nations and frontier markets like Ghana and Kenya seeing the largest increases.

Africa’s fastest-growing Economies

The 54 countries of Africa have assumed centre stage in the global investment agenda; African markets have experienced unprecedented expansion thanks to foreign direct investment and multinational projects in vital sectors including energy, infrastructure, and banking. The vibrant economies of Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, Angola, and other countries present exciting opportunities for international industry and African residents alike. Many of these countries anticipate GDP growth rates in excess of 7% per year, every year, for decades to come.

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African Resource Dominance

Africa is home to 30% of the world’s mineral resources and 25% of the world’s natural biodiversity, but it also has significant untapped resource potential. Nearly half the world’s gold and one-third of all minerals are in Africa. In contrast to the ageing populations of Europe and China, Africa has a young population. A strong skills base across many regions offers considerable labour potential. With metropolitan regions accounting for two-thirds of population growth, there is great potential for a rising creative class and innovation hotspots like the “Silicon Savannah” in Nairobi, Kenya, or Kigali, Rwanda.

Renewable energy sources like solar, wind, ocean energy, green hydrogen, etc. have enormous potential for Africa.

The abundance of natural resources in Africa opens up a wide range of opportunities for the growth of a thriving bio-economy. It could promote economic growth and climate-proof the production of food, health care, energy, and industrial goods for a population that is expanding and urbanising.

The strategic raw materials that are essential for digitalization and green technologies are found in Africa, including battery minerals like cobalt, manganese, graphite, and copper. Increased local processing, value addition, and resource-driven industrialization are goals of the African Mining Vision.

African economies must use their resources to create prosperity for their own population. Regional development could undergo a structural transformation as a result of digitization. Through indigenous manufacturing capability, the African Continental Free Trade Area has a significant potential to foster regional growth and development.

Natural resources in Africa offer a special chance to promote both economic and human development. However, there are considerable barriers standing in the way of African nations achieving this potential. First, there are issues with sustainable development and governance, such as bad investment choices and ineffective income management, environmental issues, desertification, resource conservation, and the eviction of communities from their ancestral lands. In addition to poor border controls, a lack of human security, a decline in investment, bad policy decisions, and a decline in biodiversity and formal trade, weak institutions also result in these negative consequences.

Africa and the Global Players – Trade

A quick glance at the globe map demonstrates Africa’s dominant position. Australia is situated at the same latitudes as the southern half of Africa, and the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Mediterranean Sea wash its coasts. It is bordered on the west by North and South America, on the north by Europe, on the north by the Middle East, and on the east by Asia. However, geography can be misleading. Africa has historically had less influence on world affairs than other continents like Asia and Europe.

The largest and nearest neighbour to Africa is the European Union. Its the most significant trade partner, financial backer, humanitarian aid and development aid donor, and a major peace and security contributor. The partnership’s economic and financial aspects deserve consideration. According to official statistics from 2017, Europe accounts for 35.9% of all trade between Africa and the continent, with EY making up 32.7% of all imports and 41.1% of all exports.

Africa deals with a constantly shifting global trade environment that presents new chances and difficulties for boosting growth and lowering poverty. Emerging trends are dominated by the proliferation of regional trade agreements, often at the expense of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the fourth Industrial Revolution and the subsequent rise of labour-saving technologies, Asia’s emergence as the next great economic power, increased production fragmentation, and quick changes in global value chains (GVCs).

There are a variety of experiences with regard to how AGOA (The African Growth and Opportunity Act) has been used throughout the region, including those who completely missed the opportunity (Central and West Africa), those who initially registered strong growth before either experiencing a sharp decline or stagnation (many in Southern Africa) and latecomers who made significant progress (East African countries, including Ethiopia and Kenya).

African nations continue to be mostly dependent on exports of primary goods from the agricultural, mining, and extractive industries despite efforts to diversify their export sources. Long-term, this has negative effects on inclusive growth since it dims opportunities for industrialization and the creation of human capital, among other things.

Africa’s Trade Integration with India

With the creation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in 1963, which included 32 countries, the African continent initially engaged in trade integration. India’s entire exports to the African Union in 2019 came to USD 29.59 billion, while its total imports were USD 38.74 billion. Nigeria accounts for the largest share of India’s imports from the African Union (27.39%), followed by South Africa (17.12%), Angola (9.81%), Ghana (6.44%), and Egypt (6.44%). (5.17 percent). South Africa (13.46 percent), Nigeria (12.43 percent), Egypt (8.98 percent), Mozambique (7.22 percent), and Kenya receive the majority of India’s exports (6.53 percent).

India has trading ties with various smaller African nations even though the bulk of its commerce is with South Africa and Nigeria. India has increased the variety of its trade with Africa in recent decades. [40] The mix of goods that India exports to the continent has changed from textile yarns to petroleum, medicinal, chemical, and manufactured goods. At the same time, considering the extensive natural resource base in Africa, India’s import basket is nevertheless broad even though it is dominated by primary products and natural resources.

With the exception of Mauritius, India attracted investments from South Africa, Seychelles, Mozambique, and Uganda throughout the previous five years (2015–2020). Some of the major industries in which Africa has received FDI from Indiaa include telecommunications services, cement manufacture, financial leasing, power generation, air transportation activities, and advertising services. If investments from Mauritius are removed, some of the major sectors for investment include financial services, healthcare services (mostly from South Africa), and pharmaceutical product manufacturing (Seychelles, Mozambique, and South Africa) (South Africa).

The services sector accounts for the majority of investments from India to Africa, and within this sector, the bilateral tax agreement between the two countries is mostly responsible. However, there are some tendencies in bilateral trade that are complementary to India’s, particularly in the case of resource-seeking ventures in the mining and chemical sectors. Under the African Continental Free Trade, these ties in trade and investment can be strengthened.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the widespread application of containment measures, such as lockdowns, social exclusion, and border closures, caused supply and demand shocks and a significant contraction in world trade. The trajectory of global trade, however, reversed in 2021 as a result of a sustained increase in global demand and output growth following a gradual easing of containment measures related to the pandemic, the widespread use of vaccines, and support from monetary and fiscal stimulus programmes that helped to improve trade performance.

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Even while the percentage in 2020 was significantly lower than the pre-pandemic share of 89.26 percent recorded in 2019, the combined contribution of China and India in Africa’s exports to Asia remained strong, rising from 87.66 percent in 2020 to 88.33 percent in 2021. Over the past three years, their total export share from Africa to the rest of the globe has averaged around 24.2%,  solidifying their status as Africa’s sole top trading partners.

Although the performance in 2020 showed a minor deceleration due to the pandemic, India’s proportion of Africa’s exports to Asia has also been strong over the last three years, increasing by 25.91 percent in 2021 from 23.43 percent in 2020 and 26.3 percent in 2019.

From 6.29 percent in 2020 and 7.26 percent in 2019, India’s share of Africa’s total merchandise exports to the world increased to 7.21 percent in 2021. African exports to India have outpaced imports since 2006, allowing the continent to enjoy a trade surplus that increased to US$13.37 billion in 2022 from US$4.58 billion in 2020.

Conclusion

While Africa primarily exports crude oil, gold, coal, and other minerals, India’s principal exports to Africa are pharmaceuticals and refined petroleum products. With total investments in Africa totalling over $74 billion in recent years, India has become one of the top five investors in the continent. Additionally, Indian businesses are becoming more prevalent in resource-rich nations like Ghana and Nigeria. Some key areas have been marked out to catalyse Indian investments in Africa for a special focus :

Promote bilateral commerce and investment between India and Africa under the AfCFTA, as its legal procedures will permit significantly more of both. To increase market access for its products and services, Indian business could coordinate their activities with the goals of the free trade agreement.

Information technology, other emerging technologies, IT services, health, education, legal services, and other industries with a broad scope are among the potential services traded with Africa.

In the post-covid age, prospects in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries are particularly important. India’s achievements in the production of drugs and vaccines, as well as its more recent strides in telemedicine, are assets that may be used.

A strong digital infrastructure is essential for overall development across all industries and could help to accelerate economic growth. The digital transformation of Africa will help the continent realise its Agenda 2063.

India should invest in creating the crucial infrastructure so that international supply chains may function effectively in Africa.

Growing Indian construction initiatives show the expansion of economic ties with Africa. India has contributed significantly to these initiatives through grants, concessional loans, and capacity-building programmes, all of which have impacted considerably Africa’s socioeconomic growth.

To maximise output and boost employment rates, the majority of African nations are fusing structural reform initiatives with historically successful industries. Some of the industries have succeeded in exceeding their projections in this endeavour