PARLIAMENTARY DEBATE
Africa: New Approach - 16 December 2025 (Commons/Commons Chamber)

(Urgent Question): To ask the Foreign Secretary if she will make a statement on the Government’s new approach to Africa.

Africa matters to the United Kingdom and it matters to this Government, our missions and our plan for change. Africa has the greatest growth potential of any continent, providing expanding opportunities for UK businesses to kick-start economic growth. Strengthening the foundations of UK growth requires engagement with Africa to secure our borders and address the drivers of illegal migration. Africa is home to 30% of the world’s mineral resources, including significant deposits of the growth minerals identified in the new UK critical minerals strategy, which are essential to securing our supply chains and enabling the UK’s mission to become a clean energy superpower.

However, we inherited an approach that reflected the past and not the opportunities of Africa’s future. That is why we committed in our manifesto to deliver a new approach for mutual long-term benefit. We were also clear that reframing our relationship was not something to cook up here in London and then package as a shared approach, so we launched a five-month listening exercise, hearing from Governments and more than 600 organisations—from civil society and diaspora communities to businesses and universities—about what they valued and wanted to see from Britain. There was a clear common message: African nations want respectful, long-term partnerships that deliver real change for people’s lives.

Responding to the consultation, the UK’s new approach provides a high-level framing to guide the Government’s long-term engagement with African partners, reaffirming the shift from paternalism to a partnership of respect and equality over seven areas of shared interest. First, we are moving from donor to investor. We will go further to unlock investment and trade, helping African and British businesses to create quality jobs, economic opportunities and prosperity. Secondly, we are working together on the challenges of illegal migration. Migration should be fair, managed and controlled. We will be unapologetic in pressing for high ambition and clear progress against our priorities in this area. Thirdly, we are advancing shared interests on climate, nature and clean energy, recognising their significance for growth and security. Fourthly, we are continuing to collaborate for peace and security, working to silence the guns and tackle violence against women and girls. Fifthly, we are strengthening the systems that support people and growth, including strengthening financial self-resilience. Sixthly, we are championing African voices in global decision making, including in the global financial system. Finally, we are supporting innovation and cultural partnerships. This adds up to a new kind of partnership—one that works with African leadership and is inclusive, respectful and strong enough to work through difficulties and disagreements.

Our high commissions and embassies will be at the forefront of embedding this approach in spirit and content, and we will take it forward into the UK’s G20 presidency in 2027. British Ministers will be out there on the continent championing these principles, strengthening coherence across our partnerships and backing diverse African voices to shape our work.

I will just say gently, Minister, that this is a very important statement, and what you have said is so important to the House. We do not need written ministerial statements; it would be easier if it was brought to the House, rather than hidden away in the Library.

I am grateful to you for granting this urgent question, Mr Speaker. I declare an interest as chair of the all-party parliamentary group for foreign affairs and co-chair of the APPG for the Commonwealth.

The geopolitical challenges we face as a nation are acute and mounting and have real impacts on people back home in Newcastle-under-Lyme and across our United Kingdom. For too long, our relationship with countries on the African continent has been viewed through the prism of colonial guilt, which has harmed our ability to engage, left relationships to suffer and let generations down. We must think about what we can do with, not to, nations on the African continent.

The African continent is a big and diverse place and cannot be put in one basket. Each region will have different characteristics, and our approach needs to reflect that with respect, understanding and action. The United Kingdom has been found seriously wanting in relation to its former colonies over the past 30 years under successive Governments, and this must be a turning point based on respect, friendship, equality and our shared histories, bonds, systems and experiences.

I have the following questions for the Minister. How will the Government’s approach protect the United Kingdom against the geopolitical threats we face from Russia, China and other hostile states and their corrosive impact on nations across the African continent? Many African nations are members of the Commonwealth—a hugely important but totally underutilised post-war creation. How will the approach ensure that the Commonwealth gets meaningful support and is properly fit for purpose? I am concerned that one word that was not mentioned in the statement was “Commonwealth”.

How much money will be put behind this new approach? What steps will be taken to ensure that new, meaningful trade deals are established between African nations and the United Kingdom? Fair, balanced and decent trade has a hugely important role to play in this relationship, and it must be taken seriously. What will be expected of our heads of missions at high commissions and embassies across Africa to advance this approach? Finally, what will our new approach mean for British engagement with the African Union?

The bonds of history and people bind together our United Kingdom and many independent nations on the African continent; we have common languages, common legal systems, common but difficult histories and a common purpose. This new approach has the potential to help to grow our economy here at home, neutralise the influence of hostile states and move forward together. If it does that, it will have my full support.

I thank my hon. Friend both for the question and for his dedication to and diligence on these issues. I reassure him of the importance that this Government place on the Commonwealth, which is a vital partnership both in Africa and across the world. It is the C in FCDO, and it is very close to our minds and central to our strategy both in Africa and elsewhere.

My hon. Friend asks important points about the role of Russia and China in Africa. As he knows well, China particularly has been a long-standing presence in many African countries as an important source of trade and finance. In my experience, though, African countries are not naive about Chinese motivations or the potential risks associated with elements of its offer. The Africa strategy that we announced yesterday is in part a response to the desire from so many African countries for a longer, enduring and sustainable partnership with the UK, both to respond to the interests of others, whether that is China or Russia, and to build on the historic ties to which he so eloquently referred.

I pause briefly to talk about Russia’s role in Africa. Russia is exploiting conflicts, instability and natural resources right across Africa, in the Sahel and indeed in north Africa. We are already supporting African partners through strategic security and defence relationships with countries such as Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana, co-ordinating closely with like-minded states and international organisations. The role of the Africa Corps in Africa is malign.

I call the shadow Secretary of State.

I congratulate the hon. Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Adam Jogee) for securing this important urgent question. May I say that I do not think it is acceptable for the Minister to just regurgitate the written ministerial statement from yesterday?

There are some fundamental issues about what should be the Government’s strategy. First and foremost, it was wrong to simply say that the approach that the Government inherited was wrong. I should know that, having recapitalised the Commonwealth Development Corporation, with British International Investment now having a huge amount of annual investment and reinvestment every single year on economic development in Africa. Fundamentally, whether it is from Gavi, the Global Fund or the sustainable development goals, these are founding principles that are now being advanced across Africa, and the Government really should do much more to stand up and defend them.

In the written ministerial statement yesterday there was no reference to China’s belt and road debt traps, Russia’s nefarious activities or the Wagner Group in Africa. Yet before our eyes, we see the axis of authoritarian states pillaging African countries for its natural resources. Where is the substance for a plan of action to counter the growing influence of that axis?

As we have already heard, there is also scant regard in the Government’s plan for the Commonwealth and its role in upholding democracy, capacity building and freedoms. Why is that the case? Are the Government working with the new secretary-general on her economic vision, which would clearly benefit the UK and Africa?

We do not know how the Government intend to support the African Union or rise to the challenges in the continent, and sadly, we are seeing so much conflict right now. Can the Minister explain what the UK will do to leverage our conflict resolution expertise to good effect?

Finally, on illegal migration, can I remind the Minister and the Government that they intentionally tore up engagement with a key Commonwealth partner? Rwanda sought to provide leadership on illegal migration and stop young men leaving the continent at great risk because it wanted to create an economic development partnership with the UK. That surely speaks to some of the serious challenges that this Government now need to pick up and confront.

I addressed the questions of Russia and China somewhat in my previous answer, but let me reassure the shadow Foreign Secretary how central those issues of conflict are to us. I travelled to Libya in recent months, where, as she knows, Russia has been active, particularly in the west. The Wagner Group may have been renamed the Africa Corps, but it remains as malign a threat to Africa and, indeed, British interests as it ever was. We are active across the continent in seeking to counter its baleful influence.

The right hon. Lady talks about migration pressures from Africa. We are working in places such as Algeria, Tunisia, and indeed Libya, where small boats cross into Mediterranean Europe—

We always have been.

I am glad to hear a moment of uncharacteristic harmony between the two Benches.

Where the work that was started by the previous Government was functioning, we continued it. Where it was not—such as the Rwanda deal that the right hon. Lady referred to—we stopped it.

My hon. Friend is a powerful advocate in this area. I know that the Minister responsible for Africa has been considering those issues, and I will ensure that my hon. Friend gets a meeting to discuss them further.

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

The Government are absolutely right to say that the United Kingdom needs a new relationship with Africa. Many Members in this House had hoped that that partnership would be sustainable, strategic and built on mutual trust. Africa, after all, has one of the youngest populations in the world and incredible economic potential, yet the Government are cutting aid to Africa by 12% this year alone, with further reductions likely in years to come.

Over the last decade the Liberal Democrats criticised the constant churn in Ministers under the previous Conservative Government, and we are very disappointed that the Africa Minister has recently again been changed. That has come as hard news in continental Africa, where the Minister was appreciated and the hard work that had been undertaken was bearing fruit.

Warm words are not enough when the overall trajectory that we see from the UK is arguably one of a diminishing partnership and diminishing influence. The Government are cutting overseas development aid from 0.7% to 0.3%—the lowest this country has ever seen—at a time when debt costs are rising in continental Africa. It is important to invest in the work of the FCDO, because trade commissioners, for example, provide the in-country expertise that is needed to develop the new economic relations that the Minister talks about. On migration, upstream investment in poverty reduction and conflict prevention is more important than ever, as is support for organisations such as the British Council.

Africa is an essential strategic partner in an increasingly contested world, so may I ask the Minister directly, how can the Government seriously claim that they are strengthening partnerships and seeking to influence Africa while cutting aid and hollowing out the very tools that make engagement sustainable?

As I set out, at the centre of the new strategy is a move from simply donation to investment. We are hearing that that new partnership is demanded from across Africa.

Let me join the hon. Gentleman in paying tribute to the previous Minister for Africa, who I worked closely with. He was a diligent servant of the FCDO and the country, and I know that he continues to do important work in the other place. The new Minister for Africa is excellent. I have been the Minister responsible for North Africa consistently throughout the period, so I can reassure the hon. Gentleman that while some things have changed, others have not.

We will set out the ODA allocations in due course in the new year. On the point about whether or not we can truly have influence in Africa given the decisions we have made on ODA, I think that the hon. Gentleman has heard clearly from the continent itself the valuable work that the Minister for Africa, both past and present, is able to do, and that work will continue.

I welcome the change of approach that the Minister has outlined—a change from a paternalism to partnership—and I welcome the listening way in which it has been done. I am concerned that poverty reduction was not mentioned in the statement—neither were sustainable development goals, or working with local organisations on the ground that know best. Will the Minister reassure the House that poverty reduction is at the heart of our strategy in working with local organisations across the many countries in Africa to achieve the real change that Africa needs?

I reassure my hon. Friend, who has long experience in these matters, that we remain committed to sustainable development goals, poverty reduction and working with local partners.

I absolve the Minister entirely from responsibility for this statement, as he is not the Africa Minister, but is the so-called new approach for Africa not rather like the old strategy—which was so well set out in the White Paper published by the former Prime Minister in November 2023, with its emphasis on investment—but with much less development investment and much less influence? Will the Minister confirm that bilateral programmes are being cut to ribbons across Africa? Does he realise that in major African institutions there is genuine amazement and astonishment that a Labour Government, for the first time ever in the Labour party’s history, have slashed development aid? Does he appreciate that as Britain and America are withdrawing from Africa, it is Russia and China that are taking our place?

Let me pay tribute to the work of the right hon. Gentleman. I served for two years in South Sudan when he was the Development Secretary; I know his commitment to these issues and I know that many of the programmes that are still run in Africa were set up during his tenure. As I said, we will set out the ODA allocations in more detail in the new year. As the right hon. Gentleman alluded to, it is vital that we make this shift; there has been recognition on both sides of the House that there was a need for a change in approach. That is what the Africa strategy is about, and we will no doubt set out further detail in the new year.

I have visited four of my six markets in southern Africa this year, and we are clearly hearing support from those nations for this new approach. It transforms our relationship from donor to investor and from benefactor to partner. Key to delivering this ambition will be a focus on economic diplomacy. Therefore, it is critical that we sustain our resources and networks within the region. How will that be reflected in a new appreciation of the vital work that our diplomatic network does within Africa and the expertise that it has, because it is vital to enhancing both our interests and African interests?

I thank my hon. Friend both for his kind words about the diplomatic service and for his own diligent efforts as trade envoy to southern Africa, which I know is yielding real results. He is right that there is a real desire for serious engagement on economic issues. We see in his work and the work of many other trade envoys the potential for further growth in Africa, and the Foreign Office will remain focused on it.

Since it is nearly Christmas, and in the spirit of goodwill, may I congratulate the Government on changing and updating the UK language on the Western Sahara? What will the Government now do to ensure that the good progress we have made since the 2019 association agreement with Morocco is sustained and improves further both our bilateral trade and our mutual security?

In the spirit of Christmas, I thank my predecessor for that important and helpful question. I know the House will be aware both of the shift in position on Western Sahara announced by the previous Foreign Secretary and of our vote in the recent Security Council deliberations about the future negotiations over Western Sahara. The UN special envoy, Mr de Mistura, retains our full confidence. He is working hard to try to advance talks. It is vital to try to bring to a close this long-running conflict and impediment to greater unity in north Africa, and we hope to see progress in the coming months.

Although I do not disagree with any of the principles set out in the strategy, I am disappointed by its level of ambition and detail. It does not reflect what we did when we were last in government with the Commission for Africa, which was an all-encompassing report looking at how we work together at the university level as well as on skills, trade, women and girls—all those issues—and build democracy. Unfortunately, it also does not address the real risk from Russia and China’s role in Africa. We have 21 Commonwealth countries in Africa, and they are telling us that they desperately need us as a partner so that we can bring the stability and prosperity to the continent that we all want to see.

My hon. Friend has much experience in these matters. I sought earlier to address some of the questions on Russia and China. The Minister for Africa will have heard her disappointment and I am sure will be happy to discuss it further.

As you will know, Mr Speaker, I have been calling for the Government to publish an Africa strategy for a very long time. Has it been worth the wait? No. Yesterday, we got a written ministerial statement with a new approach—a partnership. It is not a strategy. As has been said, of the 54 nations, 21 are Commonwealth nations.

Many years ago, I visited the Foreign Office and met the Africa Minister. He said, “Mark, I want you to tell me about certain countries in Africa.” I said, “The first thing you need to do, Minister, is change the map behind you.” He looked round at a tiny little map—as the Minister knows, the continent is huge. This is a timid, timid, timid approach to Africa; it is rather embarrassing. The Minister and the Government should be doing better.

I do not accept that it is a timid approach. We have set out seven principles of a new approach following hundreds of consultations launched by the previous Foreign Secretary, but I heard what the right hon. Member said, as the Africa Minister will have done.

I welcome the Government’s new approach to Africa and the shift from discussion of the continent and our role as donors to that of investors and partners. In the last 50 years we have seen the importance of Asia, with the tiger economies of India and China driving the global economy. It is quite clear that the next 50 years will be an African future, with demographic growth, economic growth and the role of critical minerals and other resources in Africa. I welcome recognition of the importance of that in the approach. In the light of the continent’s growing importance, will we see a shift in FCDO and diplomatic resources to ensure that our resources to discuss and build those relationships align with the new strategy and the continent’s importance?

As my hon. Friend would expect, our resources will indeed reflect our strategy. However, as I said earlier, ODA allocations will be announced in the new year, as of course will questions about the laydown of the Foreign Office.

Warm words offer cold comfort to those facing brutal aid cuts this winter. While the Scottish Government remain fully committed to their global partners, the UK is in full retreat. While Scotland’s First Minister has personally visited Malawi in recent weeks to see at first hand the impact of the lifesaving partnership we have, the UK Government leak to the press that they are likely to cut all their aid to Malawi, which is one of the poorest countries in the world. In the spirit of Christmas, will the Minister do the right thing and halt all those aid cuts until the Government have carried out full country-by-country impact assessments on the African continent?

In the spirit of Christmas, I am glad to hear that the First Minister of Scotland has been travelling to visit UK aid programmes, as have I and the whole of the Foreign Office ministerial team. As I said earlier, decisions on ODA allocations will be announced in the new year.

One of the issues is what the effect of the new policy will be. To take one example, what will be the position of the new policy on Nigeria, where so many girls are not in education? The UK has invested in education to encourage them, but many of them come under threat from Islamists who try to convert them.

As I have said, we will set out further details on allocations in the new year, but I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising the situation in Nigeria. To understate the position considerably, women and girls in Nigeria clearly face very considerable threats—as do Christians in Nigeria, as recent events have demonstrated. Let me take the opportunity to condemn the recent abductions. We welcome the news that some have been released, and we join the Government of Nigeria in calling for the release of all remaining abductees and for perpetrators to be brought to justice. Events in Nigeria have taken a very dark turn in recent months, and it is a high priority for the British Government to see that reversed.

Following on directly from that, what can the Minister tell us about any military advice or assistance that our experts in counter-insurgency are giving to the Governments of friendly Commonwealth countries like Nigeria that face vicious jihadist extremist attack from organisations such as Boko Haram?

The right hon. Gentleman asks an important question. We have a security and defence partnership with Nigeria and we are helping to build capacity within Nigeria’s security agencies to respond to and prevent attacks, including through support to the multi-agency anti-kidnap fusion cell, which is particularly critical given the events to which I just alluded.

As Shakira once famously said, “This time for Africa.” Although I welcome the Minister’s statement, I am a little underwhelmed, especially by the constant cuts by successive Governments to the foreign aid budget. We know that 800 million Africans are living in countries where public spending on debt interest exceeds that on health expenditure. That is a feedback loop that only makes life harder. What Africa needs is long-term investments and to be viewed as a partner. What steps are the Government taking to invest in partnerships with African countries? How will they stack that up against what China has been doing for close to three decades?

The hon. Gentleman asks an important question—obscured by Shakira lyrics—and makes an important point. It is indisputable that China has put more financial resources into Africa in recent years than in any period before. However, what we hear from many African Governments and African people is that they are wary of some of the conditionality that comes with that investment, and the debt to which he referred. We are seeking a partnership that is respectful and can help African Governments address those issues. Where private sector investment is available from the UK, that is what we are working to support, including through trade envoys such as my hon. Friend the Member for Leyton and Wanstead (Mr Bailey), who spoke earlier.

I thank the Minister very much for his answers and recognise his intent and that of the Government to try to help in whatever way they can. For centuries, churches and faith groups have sent missionaries to Africa. I think of the Samaritan’s Purse charity, which works across Africa and the middle east. I also think of many churches from Ards and Strangford, such as the Elim church and missions who go to Swaziland—Eswatini—and have built schools, clinics and hospitals. They have also brought farm implements and introduced modern farming practices to feed the people. In the past, I have highlighted the key role that church missions could play. Is it not about time to work with churches and make those partnerships work for Africa and its people?

I appreciate the question. In my own time overseas, and indeed in Africa, I saw the vital work that church groups do. It was the bishops in South Sudan who performed some of the most important peace mediation work. Just last night I met Christian groups operating in the Holy Land as well. We are conscious of the vital work done by faith communities in Africa and across the world, and freedom of religious belief and partnership with groups of all denominations is important to the Government.