By Bongiwe Dlamini

MBABANE:Lutfo Dlamini, the former Eswatini Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation says, Africa’s destiny can no-longer be shaped by imported ideologies.

Addressing the annual Morocco’s MeDays International Forum this week, the ex-Foreign Affairs Minister and long-serving politician in the Southern African Kingdom said, Africa has been, for a long time, manipulated by foreign elements.

MEDays is an annual international Forum which is organized every year in Tangier under the high patronage of King Mohammed VI and, is the main event organized by the Amadeus Institute, it confronts and brings together different readings, opinions and recommendations from high level international policymakers on essential topics and issues

“But the most important truth is this; Africa can no longer allow its destiny to be shaped by imported ideologies, external indicators, or distant institutions that often misunderstand our rhythms.For decades, our competitiveness was measured by indices designed elsewhere-many useful, yes, but often incomplete, overly financialized, and blind to the potential embedded in African societies. They told us what we lacked but seldom acknowledged what we possessed. Today, through the Amadeus Institute Attractiveness and Stability Indexes, Africa responds with a tool that speaks our language, understands our political economies, and aligns with our development pathways,” he said.

Dlamini said, “the Amadeus Index is not just a measurement tool” but a declaration of confidence.

“We can evaluate ourselves, we can diagnose ourselves, and we can propose solutions rooted in our context,” said the ex-Eswatini Foreign Affairs Minister.