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For Africans, the Atlantic has always been out there, considered as more menacing than promising: a vast body of water that has brought, over the centuries, invaders, missionaries, occupiers, colonialists, slave traders, and various other bearers of unwelcome influences. In recent decades, organized crime groups used it to transport drugs from Latin America to Europe via the Gulf of Guinea, while human trafficking mafias utilize it to smuggle illegal migrants from Africa into Europe through routes such as the Canaries, Mauritania, or the Moroccan Cities of Dakhla, Laâyoune, and Tangiers.
However, the Atlantic need not remain a source of adversity for Africans. Many in Africa nowadays view it as a potential space for significant growth and shared prosperity, benefitting both coastal and inland countries alike. King Mohamed VI of Morocco, on November 6, 2023, called on Africans “to transform the Atlantic coast into an area of human communication, economic integration and continental and international visibility.” This vision is shared by more than 20 countries within the framework of the Process of African Atlantic States (PEAA), whose officials have been meeting regularly since 2022 to set up the foundations of this collaborative space.
The strategic objectives essential for achieving this vision are fundamental pillars of the envisioned shared prosperity. These include developing a sustainable blue economy, establishing robust logistics and energy infrastructure connections, boosting trade and supply chain inter-connectivity, fostering research collaboration among universities, facilitating the free flow of goods and persons, and enhancing shared initiatives between the private sector and civil society. Protecting the marine ecosystems from pollution, overfishing and non-sustainable drilling, as well as securing shared borders and coasts against organized and trans-border crime, are crucial prerequisites for creating an environment that is conducive to shared growth and prosperity.
The grand and ambitious multibillion-dollar natural gas pipeline project from Nigeria to Morocco, covering 14 west African countries, should be recognized as one of the major pillars of strategic economic integration along the Atlantic coast. Energy connectivity will enable these African countries to ensure a steady energy supply, while facilitating the growth of multiple ecosystems of services, technical know-how, and job opportunities at different pipeline stations.
A network of ports and logistical stations covering over 8000 nautical miles from Cape Town to Tangiers, including cities such as Luanda, Libreville, Accra, Abidjan, Freetown, Dakar, Nouadhibou, Dakhla, and Casablanca, will play an important role in facilitating a seamless movement of goods—a transformative change that will for sure boost local economies, especially for small West African countries.
In addition to trade and energy logistical pathways, collaborative initiatives aimed at promoting sustainable coastal fishing and eco-tourism in bays, lagoons, and along coastlines will help sustain communities and create much-needed jobs, especially in poverty-stricken countries along the Atlantic African coast. Cooperation and exchange of good practices are key in this regard. Countries like Morocco, South Africa, Senegal, and Côte d’Ivoire could leverage their experience and lead the way to promote sustainable fishing practices, develop community-led tourism, and organize cultural events like handicraft and music festivals, among other initiatives.
An integrated Atlantic Africa is also about security and safety, as critical prerequisites for shared prosperity. Addressing the interconnected issues of narco-trafficking, trans-border crime, human trafficking and terrorism presents a collective challenge for African countries. Focusing on the porous nature of the Gulf of Guinea, the complex dynamics within the triangle formed by the borders between Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, the lake Chad ecosystem implosion and its impact on neighboring communities and countries, as well as combating human trafficking rings spanning the vast expanse of the Grand Sahara and extending into the Mediterranean, or along the coast towards Mauritania, neighboring Morocco and the Canary Islands, are priorities of utmost urgency. Additionally, various security challenges persist in Nigeria, Cameroon, the DRC, and other regions. Addressing these challenges will require cooperation, information sharing and joint African action, supported by intelligence, equipment, and training assistance from non-African countries.
Ultimately, the most important element in the Atlantic Initiative Vision is to ensure that land-locked and non-coastal countries such as Botswana, Burkina Faso, Chad, Central Africa Republic, Lesotho, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, Uganda, Zimbabwe, and Zambia are not left behind. Meetings convened recently in Marrakech to engage the Sahelian countries to reflect together on how to devise ways to provide them with access to ports like Dakhla, and even possibly Nouadhibou and Dakar. Dedicated roads and logistical facilities in cooperation with countries such as Morocco, Mauritania, and Senegal is a viable option in this regard. Landlocked Sahelian countries and others deserve equal access to the sea as coastal nations; direct Atlantic access will not only enable them to diversify their economies but also to tap into trade and investment opportunities previously limited to coastal states.
Integrated Atlantic Africa may seem a lofty inspiration, but it is an achievable one, contingent upon the presence of will and effective leadership to drive large-scale integrative projects, such as the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline, for example. Africans need to embrace the belief that a shared prosperity is within their reach, provided they change their perception of the Atlantic–from it being a source of woes to being a realm of boundless possibilities.
