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Former President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has arrived in Lake Como, Italy, to join global leaders, policymakers, scholars, and strategic thinkers at an international experts workshop where he is expected to make a strong case for Africa to move beyond aid dependency and embrace strategic partnerships anchored on trade, investment, industrialisation, stronger institutions, domestic resource mobilisation, and African agency.

The gathering, organised by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS), the foundation named after former German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, has as its central theme: “Big Daddy Gone? Global Partnerships Without U.S. Leadership.”

Speaking ahead of his session, Saraki said: “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.”

At the workshop, which will begin on Monday, June 29, and end on July 1, Saraki will address the gathering as part of the fifth panel on Tuesday afternoon, where he will present the African perspective on “Development Policies: Withdrawal of the United States from International Development — Opportunities and Challenges.”

While there are two Africans among the 22 participants, Saraki has been selected to present the African perspective based on his experience in the private and public sectors, as well as his engagements during his tenure as Nigeria’s President of the Senate, Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, and Governor of Kwara State.

He will be part of a panel consisting of Dr. Paola Bautista de Alemán, Vice President for Training and Programmes, Primero Justicia, Venezuela, and Prof. Christian Leuprecht, Professor at the Royal Military College, Canada. The session will be chaired by Dr. Tilmann Feltes, Policy Advisor, Division Analysis and Consulting, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Germany.

Other sub-themes to be explored during the conference 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 titled “The Western Hemisphere and the US — Back to 1823?”, “Strategic (Inter-)Dependencies and New Opportunities,” as well as “New Defence Partnerships.”

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