AFRICAN HUBS AND THE UNITED NATIONS

 

Forbes.com just published an article titled ''Africa's Skyward Ascent: The Rise of Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa'. Reading that article initiated a somewhat sinuous reflexion by the author, starting with the six new members of the BRICS, continuing in the wake of some strange mentions in the news about the recent BRICS 2023 Summit, and ending somehow with the possible reshaping (if not replacement) of the United Nations Organization..

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So, according to Forbes, three major aviation hubs will soon rise in Africa

Those hubs will be in Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa

The last-mentioned country, South Africa, is already a member of the BRICS

The first two mentioned, Nigeria and Morocco, are among the likely candidates for any future enlargement of the BRICS, Nigeria for its demographic size, its oil resources, and its great economic potential, Morocco for its strategic location, its abundant natural resources, and its remarkable economic diversification

Two other African countries, Ethiopia and Egypt, are also among the six new members of the BRICS. 

Another African country. Kenya, is a possible future member of the BRICS, given its large population and its dynamic economy. Its geographical location, at the heart of East Africa, is also quite important, especially if one remember that the Nile Valley, between Egypt and Ethiopia, is blocked because of the civil war in Sudan. Kenya is also an important link in the important land corridor leading to South Africa, through the countries of Tanzania and Mozambique.

Moreover, the capital city of Kenya, Nairobi, also happens to have received, in 1996, the newest of the four major UN offices sites. The three other UN office sites are in the cities of:

• New York (seat of the present headquarters of the United Nations),
• Geneva (seat of the old headquarters, of the Société des Nations), and
• Vienna (whose site, created in 1980, is an important part of the Vienna International Center).

I am beginning to suspect it may be the long-term plan of the BRICS countries to replace at least some of the existing world organizations, like the World Bank, and... the United Nations. The headquarters of the new organization, possibly under its present name (or under a new one, like the Federation of Nations, for instance), would then be in Nairobi, with three other administrative nodes in the present office sites of Vienna, Geneva, and New York.

If so, the new or renewed organization may need its own set of rules, policies and processes, including for the functioning of the Security Council. That very important body may then face the necessity of changing its composition to make room for fast emerging India (and, later on, for fast emerging Nigeria),

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https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2023/08/25/africas-skyward-ascent-the-rise-of-morocco-nigeria-and-south-africa/?sh=56c4a6c57321

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PLUS:  @charles.millar3 (Twitter)