UK targets five African countries for trade partnership

Three UK government ministries have launched the High Level Prosperity Partnerships, aiming to strengthen economic cooperation with Angola, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mozambique and Tanzania. The Foreign & Commonwealth Office, UK Trade & Investment and the Department for International Development (DfID) will work together to identify opportunities to increase trade and investment, to harness what ministers describe as the UK’s “competitive advantage” amid growing competition from new investors in Africa as well as the continent’s traditional partners. The initiative follows a summit of the Group of Eight wealthiest countries in Northern Ireland in June, hosted by UK prime minister David Cameron, which gave its backing to the growing global transparency agenda with a ten-point plan covering a range of issues including tax evasion, payment transparency and ending barriers to free trade