November 21, 2023

In this penetrating  interview, I discuss Ethiopia’s plight to achieve access to a port on the Red Sea, avoiding war at all costs. We must proceed to create a peaceful solution. That requires that African nations do not internalize the dangerous dogma dominating Western thinking that the world is a “zero-sum game.” African nations should not emulate the West’s diseased ideology of the so called “rules-based international order.” Instead, we should elevate our thinking to a higher domain of mutual economic cooperation that benefits all nations. Nations should no longer get trapped into reacting to the past, to colonial legacies, and instead to create a vision for development for 20-40 years into the future. We should recognize that all nations share a common interest, in which nations understand that the “benefit to the other is a benefit to thy self.” This approach focuses on promoting physical economic growth to all the nations in the region, to lift up millions of Africans suffering from poverty. Poverty is the great destabilizer of African nations, which must be eliminated to create conditions for durable peace and stability.

Lawrence Freeman is a Political-Economic Analyst for Africa, who has been involved in economic development policies for Africa for 35 years. He is a teacher, writer, public speaker, consultant on Africa, and an analyst of global strategic relations. Mr. Freeman strongly believes that economic development is an essential human right. He is the creator of the blog: lawrencefreemanafricaandtheworld.com, also publishes on: lawrencefreeman.substack.com, “Freeman’s Africa and the World, and on X @lkfreemansafrica