Tony Blair Seeks International Trade Deals With Africa

Outgoing British Prime Minister Tony Blair is seeking to forge new international trade agreements in the African continent. This will be Blair's valedictory trip before he steps down after 10 years in power on June 27. His former Finance Minister Gordon Brown takes over as Prime Minister. The trip is likewise aimed at strengthening international trade with Africa.

Blair's itinerary includes trips to Libya, Sierra Leone, and South Africa. He is taking the trip as an opportunity to gain some grounds in terms of progress. The trip is a crucial one since the Group of Eight will have its annual summit in Germany. Blair will be looking forward to include international trade among his agenda. In addition, a number of African states were asked to take part in the G8 summit, for South Africa is a vital player in the said upcoming meeting. One of Blair's biggest achievements as president of the G8 was to resolve Africa's growing social concerns such as poverty, famine, and diseases. In 2004, in his capacity as president of the Group of Eight, Blair established the Africa Commission.

Blair is initiating steps to put a stop to the four-year old hostilities in the Darfur region of Sudan. Less than 200,000 lives have been lost and about two million left homeless since the conflict began in 2003. The sending of an African Union-United Nations peacekeeping force of 23,000 soldiers was approved by the Security Council. The United States have vowed to implement international trade sanctions on Sudan.

Moreover, the outgoing British leader has stamped his mark in Africa. He sent British soldiers to Sierra Leone in the year 2000 in order to beef up the United Nation's efforts to put an end to the civil war. Blair's visit to Libya in 2004 ended its international trade hiatus by terminating their acquisition of prohibited weapons and paying the damages for the bombing of a Scottish airliner in 1998. He is considered as the first British head of state to visit the country after 60 years.

Meanwhile, the British leader is also set to meet with South African President Thabo Mbeki during the African visit, wherein a major international trade policy will be announced. Nonetheless, the people of Africa will always remember Tony Blair, the former leader of one of the most dominant countries in the world, for the contributions he has made in handling international trade talks as well as his achievements in one of the poorest regions in the world.