Biden’s victory is victory for the world – Antwi-Danso

Dr Vladimir Antwi-Danso, Dean of Academic Affairs, Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College (GAFCSC), has described the victory for the United States President-elect, Mr Joe Biden, as victory for the world.

This is because Biden would fix United Nations institutions like the World Health Organisation and World Trade Organisation, which were under the “anger of Trump and address hiccupping global governance.”

“Biden has the onerous task of putting these things back to normalcy…,” Dr Antwi-Danso told the Ghana News Agency in an interview in Accra, after Mr Biden was projected by international media as winner of the elections.

He noted that the US President-elect also needed to re-strengthen the Transatlantic Alliance between Europe and America, which was “badly broken.”

Dr Antwi-Danso said another task for Biden was how to deal with the problem of the relationship between the US and countries such as China and Russia.

“Practically, American leadership in global governance was dead under Trump. And Biden has the onerous task for revitalising all that,” he said.

He said global regimes like the Paris Protocol that took over from the Kyoto Protocol on climate for example, and regime of nuclear weapons that President Donald Trump had “completely thrown away” would have to be reactivated.

It should also be realigned by the incoming Biden Administration, he said, adding; “How he does it? We will be watching.”

Regarding the Biden Administration’s policy towards Africa, Dr Antwi-Danso said nothing much would change.

“Specifically to Africa, nothing is going to change, I have always stressed this. A challenge in American leadership does not change American Foreign Policy. He (Biden) will still use it as a geopolitical card. If they need Africa, they will come, if they don’t need Africa, they will leave Africa.”

“And so, nobody should be enthusiastic in thinking that a Biden win means something else new for Africa,” he said.

Dr Antwi-Danso said Mr Biden was, however, known to be a friend of Africa and was at the forefront of the fight against apartheid adding that it was important for African leaders to project the good side of the continent to attract investments.

“Africa’s share in world trade is only two per cent. If we should increase it to 15 per cent or 20 per cent or 30 per cent, then America will turn attention towards us.”

“Intra-African trade is only 14 per cent. Can we do something about that? Which means we are trading with the external world 86 per cent. Can we reverse that? When we reverse that, it means we are a player in the world trading system,” he said.

Dr Antwi-Danso said there were hotspots all over Africa where insecurity was a major concern and called for a change.

“If we change that picture, then it gives the (incoming) Biden administration further hope to turn attention towards Africa in a positive sense rather than coming in because…they have to save us.”

Dr Antwi-Danso urged African leaders to learn from the US election, saying: “Let’s not say hurray just because Biden has won, what we need is a change in Africa – in politics and in economics.”

Source: GNA