Saraki Meets Global Leaders in Italy, Urges Africa to Build Strategic Partnerships Instead of Relying on Aid

Former Senate President Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki has arrived in Lake Como, Italy, to participate in an international experts workshop. There, he will join global leaders, policymakers, scholars, and strategic thinkers to argue that Africa should move away from aid dependency and instead pursue strategic partnerships based on trade, investment, industrialisation, stronger institutions, domestic resource mobilisation, and African agency.

The event, organised by the Konrad‑Adenauer‑Stiftung (KAS)—the foundation named after former German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer—centres on the theme: “Big Daddy Gone? Global Partnerships Without U.S. Leadership.”

Before his session, Saraki stated: “This is a question that will define the coming decade. What does global partnership look like when it is no longer led by Washington? For too long, Africa’s relationship with the world has been framed around aid. The real opportunity is partnership—trade, investment, and mutual interest that treat Africa as an equal, not a recipient. A shifting global order is not a vacuum to fear. It is an opening to build something better.”

The workshop, running from Monday, June 29 to Wednesday, July 1, will feature Saraki in the fifth panel on Tuesday afternoon. He will present the African perspective on “Development Policies: Withdrawal of the United States from International Development—Opportunities and Challenges.”

Although only two Africans are among the 22 participants, Saraki was chosen to represent the continent because of his experience in both the private and public sectors, and his roles as Nigeria’s President of the Senate, Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, and Governor of Kwara State.

He will sit alongside Dr. Paola Bautista de Alemán, Vice President for Training and Programmes at Primero Justicia in Venezuela, and Prof. Christian Leuprecht, a professor at the Royal Military College in Canada. Dr. Tilmann Feltes, Policy Advisor for the Division of Analysis and Consulting at Konrad‑Adenauer‑Stiftung in Germany, will chair the session.

Other sub‑themes to be explored include “The United States in 2030: Western Hemisphere First—Indo‑Pacific Second? Strategic Priorities of the United States of America,” “Germany’s Priorities for Strong International Partnerships,” “Partners, Competitors, Rivals—New Alliances Around the Globe,” the fireside chat “The Western Hemisphere and the US—Back to 1823?,” “Strategic (Inter)Dependencies and New Opportunities,” and “New Defence Partnerships.”

The workshop will conclude on Wednesday and will feature participants from Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, Israel, Italy, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Australia, India, Argentina, Venezuela, the Philippines, Chile, Liberia, and Poland.