Prof. Kishore Mahbubani, an associate of the Asia Research Institute and founder of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, predicted a shift in economic power from the West to Asia in the first half of the 21st century . , with the second half moving into the Afro-Asian century.
In the fourth edition of the Ndiaye lecture on the theme ‘Africa and remakes of the new world order’ organized by the Afreximbank, Mahbubani said that China and India in 1820
were the two largest economies in the world.
“Only in the last 200 years has Europe risen, followed by the United States. In contrast to the fate of the bottom 50 percent in the United States, the bottom 50 percent in China.
their best 40 years of socio-economic progress in 4000 years of Chinese history, ‘said Mahbubani, a world-renowned geopolitical thinker and veteran diplomat.
According to him, “China decided to become more pragmatic in the 1990s and the West decided to focus on ideology.”
Four decades later, the pragmatism that underpins the acceptance of development models and solutions with a proven track record has enabled China to overtake the US as the largest economy in the world in terms of purchasing power parity after a successful demographic transition.
He predicted that the second half of the 21st century would be the Afro-Asian century, especially as the population of Africa would double in the coming decades.
The integration of the culture of Meritocracy, Pragmatism and Honesty (MPH), which helped bring about successful demographic transitions in China, will play the same role in the process of African renaissance and the return of the continent to the global center.
The MPH structure also has the potential to curb endemic corruption, which according to Professor Mahbubani has been the main obstacle to development over the years.
Mahbubani urged future generations of Africans to be as honest as Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela.
Earlier, the president and chairman of the board of Afreximbank, prof. Benedict Oramah, the visionary spirit of dr. Babacar underlines Ndiaye and its development impact. ‘Afreximbank created in response to the sovereign debt crisis in the 1980s
becomes the African crisis management institution par excellence, ‘Oramah said.
The event also paid tribute to Ndiaye of his former colleague, Ms. Arunma Oteh, who was vice-president of the African Development Bank for corporate services, is the treasurer of the World Bank and currently attends the Said Business School at the University of Oxford as an academic.
She paid a moving tribute to Dr Ndiaye’s life as her mentor and shared his vision of Africa as an economic powerhouse.
The poet Dike Chukwumerije delivered an exciting account of African history, emphasizing Africa’s extraordinary contribution to the world and paying homage to systematically organized civilizations from Africa’s past.
He stressed the importance of history in the survival of civilizations and invited Africans to preserve and preserve their history. “In our African souls we always carry our ability to stand up,” Chukwumerije said.
said in his closing statement.