Why James Cleverly wants new relationship with Africa

Picture the scene. I americium lasting astatine the apical of the Grand Staircase of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. It is possibly the astir architecturally imposing portion of the building, a riot of Victorian excess.

There are marble pillars, gilded panels and coffered ceilings. The walls are covered successful mediocre prime murals telling the communicative of imperial success.

The images of crude propaganda were designed to impressment visiting potentates. And successful the country of 1 coating sits an astonishing representation - a small, bare achromatic lad holding a vessel of effect up to his expected assemblage betters.

The lad is determination to correspond Africa oregon alternatively - successful the words of the present long-forgotten artist, Sigismund Goetze - "our obligations and possibilities successful the acheronian continent".

Next to maine is Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, who is telling maine however relaxed helium is astir the image, conscionable down the corridor from his office.

Yes, that Mr Cleverly - Britain's archetypal half-African overseas secretary, who, a fewer hours earlier hosted the presidents of Sierra Leone, wherever his parent came from, and South Africa.

He told maine that adjacent 1 of his predecessors, Lord Curzon, thought the coating "outdated and jingoistic" erstwhile it was installed successful 1921. And it does not, helium said, bespeak a modern Britain wherever he, the premier curate and location caput are of African oregon Indian heritage.

"I walked past (the painting) with a caput of authorities of an African federation 3 hours ago," helium said.

"Neither of america looked astatine it due to the fact that we were excessively engaged talking astir the important worldly that we person got to speech about.

"You tin beryllium hidebound by worldly similar this oregon recognise it is what it is: this was a reflection of what happened successful the past. But what I bash is absorption connected the future.

"If anyone had a close to consciousness possibly insulted oregon upset, I deliberation it mightiness beryllium me, but it doesn't interest maine due to the fact that we person got different food to fry."

And those food impact Britain engaging much intimately with medium-sized powers successful Africa and elsewhere.

I person travel to the Foreign Office to perceive the germ of an thought that Mr Cleverly hopes volition signifier aboriginal British overseas policy.

The thought is that Britain has for excessively agelong focused connected nurturing its accepted allies and keeping a wary oculus connected its accepted competitors, portion astatine the aforesaid clip galore countries in-between person been neglected.

These are the African countries which mightiness person failed to backmost the West's defence of Ukraine successful important United Nations votes. Countries which judge developed nations failed to enactment them sufficiently implicit Covid and clime change. Nations which possibly look much to China and Russia for their concern and security.

"As good arsenic engaging with the countries that are already precise influential connected the satellite stage, we request to look astatine the partnerships of the future," Mr Cleverly told me.

He added the UK had to deliberation astir the African countries whose populations, economies and planetary power are each growing.

Mr Cleverly volition not sanction these countries oregon adjacent springiness a generic description. Officials speech privately of "middle-ground countries" oregon "middle powers", but judge that nary operation is rather right.

The idea, though, is astir trying to find a caller signifier of diplomatic and economical engagement based connected communal benefit, adjacent if the item - for present - has yet to beryllium afloat thought through.

He said: "What it means is having a grade of thoughtfulness and sophistication to our engagement, wherever we're engaging connected issues of the future. Some of those are things that we talked astir already - clime change, vigor transition, that benignant of stuff, but besides things similar wellness collaboration.

"For example, 1 of the things we are discussing with the delegation from South Africa is pandemic preparedness. And that's the benignant of happening that is going to beryllium progressively important with countries successful Africa."

Mr Cleverly does not transportation it arsenic crudely arsenic an effort to propulsion backmost against Russia and China, some of which person a important beingness successful Africa, whether successful the signifier of Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group oregon China's immense concern successful infrastructure. But the overseas caput accepts determination is an ideological battle.

"We recognise present determination is simply a planetary contention of ideas," helium said. "So we truly person got to person a willingness to merchantability our ideas and wherefore the values that underpin our ideology are the values of our partners arsenic well."

Mr Cleverly said the UK indispensable not beryllium a state lone looking to "harvest" ideas, endowment and resources from African countries.

"We besides person to beryllium a invaluable partner.... that is looking to put backmost into our spouse countries. It's got to beryllium a existent partnership. I deliberation that is an connection that we tin enactment guardant that immoderate different countries are not putting forward."

But, I ask, mightiness not immoderate African countries question the reliability of the UK and different Western wide democracies? And volition not immoderate accidental the UK has not helped Africa overmuch connected Covid oregon clime change, and is alternatively despatching asylum seekers to Rwanda portion cutting its overseas aid?

"We are inactive 1 of the largest assistance donors successful the world," Mr Cleverly said. "Money is important. We perfectly recognise that and we look guardant to the constituent wherever the UK system has got backmost to the presumption wherever we spell backmost up to 0.7% of GNI (gross nationalist income) successful presumption of our overseas improvement assistance expenditure.

"But it's astir recognising… determination are truly important partners astir the satellite who are not arsenic wealthy, whose economies are not successful the aforesaid spot arsenic ours. But nevertheless, they perfectly person thing to connection to some the UK and to the globe.

"And truthful we request to person humility, we request to recognise that the lone mode that we're going to beryllium mutually palmy is simply a mutually beneficial partnership."

It is simply a transportation that Mr Cleverly hopes volition signifier the UK's relations with Africa for decades to come.