20th Edition

Good Afternoon folks! 😁😁

Delighted to have you here. And if you joined us this week, it’s great to finally connect with you… so here we go!

Welcome to The Friday Briefing, your weekly brief on geopolitics.

This is our 20th edition. It’s still a bit of a test, so if something does go wrong be sure to let us know… but anyway, we plan to send out your brief every Friday lunchtime 12pm GMT.

Our goal is to provide you with a balanced and insightful overview, allowing you to stay informed without being overwhelmed with information. But above all, we understand the value of your time. With our summaries, you can quickly grasp the major events shaping our world, deepen your understanding and be on your way in no time!

Our starting point…yes…Africa, but our vision extends beyond the boundaries of a single continent.

Oh don’t forget, feel free to leave behind any feedback, suggestions or further ideas you would like us to run with 🙂 

^{Why Africa? maybe because we don’t hear much…}

Back in 2013, the 42nd President of the United States tweeted the above tweet, “Just touched down in Africa…” ⬆️

Although Mr Clinton’s tweet was true, despite the brazen mistruths our leaders spout these days, he nonetheless could’ve worded it a lot better.

But the tweet tells us a lot more. It exposes an attitude that many of us may have towards Africa, either through ignorance or laziness or maybe because we don’t hear enough about African countries in our national news media.

This is a continent as diverse as it is complex, a continent home to over 1.4 billion people and 54 countries, making it the second-most populated continent in the world.

Events in Africa aren't isolated, they hold global importance too. Political transitions, economic developments and conflicts in Africa have ripple effects that stretch far beyond its borders.

And yes, while we begin with Africa, we’re dedicated to expanding our weekly round-ups to other continents in due course, taking our mission to new frontiers by connecting the dots between nations and continents.

So stay tuned! 👌

^{So, what’s been happening this week?}

• Chad opposition leader killed in shootout

• Zambia declares national emergency  

• Energy rich nations invited to a summit in Algeria

• Soldiers detained after refusing deployment in Burundi

^{What does this mean?}

An opposition leader was among several people killed on Wednesday in Chad in what the government said was an attack by an opposition group on the national security agency’s office in the capital.

The spokesman of the government Abderaman Koulamallah said in a statement that the attack was carried out by The Socialist Party Without Borders, a group led by Yaya Dillo and a cousin of the current President Mahamat Deby.

The government confirmed the death of Yaya Dillo but did not elaborate on the circumstances of his death. The armed attackers in more than 10 vehicles, drove up and stormed the agency’s offices in the capital of N’Djamena. Since then dozens have been arrested and investigations are underway.

The attack shows the tenuous situation in Chad ahead of a presidential election scheduled for May 6th.

Did you know…

Chad’s transitional and interim 39 year old President, Mahamat Deby Itno, seized power after his father the former President of three decades was killed fighting rebels in the frontline in 2021

As Zambia recovers from a recent deadly outbreak of cholera, the Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema declared the country’s debilitating drought a national emergency saying it has “devastated food production and electricity generation.”

In his address to the nation, the President instructed security forces to focus more on food production in the largely peaceful country. Zambia plans to bring in more food imports and is mobilising United Nations agencies and local businesses to assist.

The President said;

“The drought has destroyed about 1 million hectares of 2.2 million hectares planted with the staple maize crop. The drought has devesting consequences on many sectors such as water availability and energy supply, risking our national food security and the livelihoods of millions of our people”.

To cope, the country will import electricity and also ration supplies to its approximately 20 million people.

Did you know…

Zambia was recently hit by one of its worst cholera outbreaks that killed more than 400 people and infected more than 10,000

Find out more about the El Nino weather pattern here

Algeria is looking to present itself as a critical supplier of natural gas for European countries seeking to lessen their dependence on Russia.

For three days, from 29th Feb to 2nd March, Algeria will host leaders from 13 other nations in its capital of Algiers, including Qatar, Venezuela, Iran and Russia as the industry confronts waning demand for oil and gas and new competition from renewable energy sources.

Algerian President Abdelmajid Tebboune said in a message on the GECF 7th Summit’s website that;

“…natural gas is increasingly in demand as a crucial energy source for socio-economic development, being one of the main clean and environmentally friendly alternative energy sources.”

The Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) is an intergovernmental forum comprising 11 countries as members and 8 as observers of the world’s leading natural gas producers and they include the following:

Members: Algeria, Bolivia, Iran, Libya, Egypt, Qatar, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Russia, Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago.

Observers: Malaysia, Norway, Peru, UAE, Iraq, Angola, Azerbaijan and Mozambique.

Did you know…

Algeria has made preliminary moves to invest in renewable energy, specifically green hydrogen power

Oil and gas revenue accounted 38% of Algeria’s budget from 2016 to 2021, according to the World Bank

The Burundian government has detained a number of soldiers for refusing to be deployed to eastern Congo in the fight against the M23 rebel group as it advances towards a major border city.

Tensions have been rising in Africa’s Great Lakes region as Rwanda, Burundi and Congo trade accusations over support for violent rebel groups operating in areas of Eastern Congo.

Fighting between M23 rebels and Congolese troops have intensified in recent weeks with the rebels now threatening the Congo city of Goma on the Rwanda border. Last week the U.S. said M23 rebels were backed by Rwanda whilst Rwanda strongly denies the accusation.

The Burundian President Mr Ndayishimiye acknowledged the presence of his Defence Force in easter Congo under the terms of a defence pact with the Congolese government.

The Congolese Presdient Mr Tshisekedi has accuesed Rwadan’s govnerment of actively supporting M23, which contorls territorty near the Rwanda border. At the same time, Burundi is accusing Rwanda of supporting another Congo-based rebel group opposed to Burundi’s government known as RED-Tabara.

Burundi last month suspended diplomatic relations with Rwanda and closed their border.

Did you know…

M23 - Known as the March 23 Movement is a Congolese rebel military group that is for the most part formed of ethnic Tutsi. It is based in easter areas of the DRC and operates mainly in the province of North Kivu

Eastern Congo already had one of the

What is the M23 group? ➡️ Watch: The Origins of Congo’s M23 Rebels 

^{Book of the week…. DEAL IN THE WORKS!}

The idea is every week we will hold a poll on our social media pages, asking our readers to recommend a book for the week…

STAY TUNED!

You’re done for the week. Follow us on our socials and see you next Friday!