The idea of a single African market, an African economic community is not new. It is even quite related to that of pan-Africanism as officially discussed in the aftermath of the massive emergence of new « independent » African states in the early 1960s.However, given the weakness of trade relations between African countries, estimated at only 16 percent compared to about 70 percent with Europe and Asia, the creation of an African continental free trade area has germinated and is making its way within the African Union. Its objective is to open up Africa to itself, a market with a population of about 1.2 billion and estimated to reach 2.5 billion by 2050.Its establishment does not respond to a dogma, but to a concrete desire to fluidify trade at the heart of the continent in order to make it a foundation for Africa's development. For, in its current form, inter-African trade is a paradox. The challenges presented by the implementation of the African Free Trade Area, one of the stages of integration for the creation of the African Economic Community, are of several orders and are likely to slow it down or lead it down. They are, among others, political, infrastructural, economic and legal.
Apart from its financial, economic and political consequences, the unpredictable Covid-19, has revealed to us the role and functions of borders in the contemporary globalized world. Indeed, the appearance of the corona virus in Wuhan in December 2019 made it possible to understand that the globalized society to which we belong is characterized by a profound fragility to the point that it is only through concerted action that we will be able to overcome this pandemic. It is in this perilous situation that a need for unity and solidarity arises and emerges, solidarity between States and Nations and solidarity within them between social classes and generations.The covid-19 highlighted the limits of ultra-liberalism and individualism. Market rules alone can no longer rule the world. Global governance will henceforth integrate, in addition to the political, economic and financial, the new areas of interest recognized as paramount, namely health, now seen as a major component of collective security, the environment and the question of equality.When Covid-19 reached sub-Saharan Africa, experts predicted a catastrophic situation with a rapid and exponential increase in the number of patients. Nevertheless, the virus spread more slowly than expected and most countries do not yet appear to have reached the peak of the epizootic.This reflection allows us to draw lessons that the world and especially Africa can learn from the development of this pandemic.
The situation in Southeast Asia is deeply affected by the geopolitical conflict between Washington and Beijing, which is fuelling many uncertainties. China continues its global expansion by developing the two new "Silk Roads" to Europe and Central Asia (the land route) and to the Middle East and Africa (the sea route that crosses the entire region) in order to break the American encirclement. In the face of these challenges, the United States is seeking to put itself in a position of strength to limit the progress of China’s economic and military power without seeking to totally impede its development. Indeed, China is thus implementing a new economic diplomacy, which emphasizes the will to "strengthen trade and investment" between China and its neighbors, and calls for the production of goods of various ranges at competitive prices, the creation of new cross-border free trade zones, the improvement of its relations with the ASEAN countries, etc. without forgetting the strategy of pearl necklaces in order to counter the encirclement that the United States of America wants to impose on it.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is experiencing a proliferation of armed groups, which are making the country insecure and fragile, and yet it is trying to find its way to development. These armed groups are of two types: foreign armed groups and national armed groups. Overall, all these armed groups have stakes. While these armed groups have had fertile ground in the DRC because of the failure of the state, the only way for the DRC to get rid of them in order to bring about lasting peace is to strengthen the capacity of the state, which can only be achieved through the theory of state rebuilding. This theory insists on the establishment of the rule of law, which is supposed to be based on strong institutions, respect for the law, the promotion of human rights, and governance supported by administration. This rule of law must be able to identify threats and thwart them. The rule of law must be conducted under an enlightened, honest and competent leadership that is capable of implementing the population's policy to avoid resentment, envy, frustration, etc. The rule of law must be based on strong institutions, respect for the law, the promotion of human rights and governance supported by the administration.