Aid & development, explained.
Competing on volumes, such as this Sinopec oil pipeline project in Uganda, might be beyond Australia’s scope, but low-cost technical expertise is a niche asset (Hajarah Nalwadda/Getty Images)
Rather than compete on aid volumes, Australia could leverage remote logistics expertise as quality partner for major projects.
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Landlocked Africa is an open opportunity for AustraliaLandlocked Africa is an open opportunity for Australia
The formidable challenges associated with the tyranny of distance for Africa’s 16 landlocked countries requires sophisticated, high-leverage strategy beyond conventional aid and capital deployment. Rather than trying to match the enormous financial resources of global heavyweights, Australia’s approach in Africa could be to deploy its unique domestic expertise forged across its own vast, remote continent to serve as an essential quality assurance partner for major global infrastructure investments.
Concentration on high-value, low-capital interventions in remote logistics, governance and technical standards would directly complement Australia’s own commercial and security interests, particularly in the African extractives sector.
Australia’s value in Africa will not come from competing on aid volumes. The optics of small aid packages can undermine Australia’s image as a global player. But carefully targeted governance and technical expertise that strengthen and sustain existing large infrastructure investments allow Australia to punch above its weight. Acting as a quality assurance and standards partner for major infrastructure projects across landlocked Africa offers Australia’s best opportunity for influence.
The most severe impediment to trade for landlocked economies is not distance, but administrative friction, inconsistency and corruption at borders. These impediments are known to inflate trade costs beyond the dictates of physical distance. Authoritative reviews of the Vienna Program of Action for Landlocked Developing Countries confirm that despite progress on infrastructure, inefficient customs processes and non-tariff barriers remain the primary restrictions on trade, hindering regional supply chains.
Australia could explore ways to provide technical and diplomatic expertise to regional economic communities to develop and implement voluntary, regionally endorsed standards and codes of conduct to manage these corridors. This high-leverage intervention targets the weakness of fragmented institutional controls without committing a dollar to construction. Furthermore, providing advisory services on digital absorption and policy transfer – not buying the systems – provides critical support to African partners to sustainably regulate, operate and secure the sophisticated digital trade and customs systems funded by other major powers to enhance long-term value.
This focus on good governance and institutional strength, though applied outside the immediate Indo-Pacific, aligns with the recent commitment articulated by Foreign Minister Penny Wong in a speech last month to support resilience and recognise that strong governance is fundamental to global stability and security that ultimately benefits Australia’s broader interests.
Australia’s unique experience is invaluable in addressing the sustainability and resilience of infrastructure against the combined threats of climate variability and maintenance deficits. New infrastructure assets, both road and rail, are often undermined by poor life-cycle management and vulnerability to environmental shocks. Australia’s Mining Equipment, Technology and Services (METS) sector has developed world-leading expertise in remote logistics and low-cost, preventative maintenance tailored to harsh, non-coastal environments – a direct parallel to African operating conditions.
Addressing these challenges faced by landlocked countries plays directly to Australia’s comparative advantage in remote logistics and infrastructure maintenance.
Australia could facilitate the transfer of these specialised field skills through targeted, non-aid workshops to build local capacity in maintaining assets, reducing the reliance on expensive foreign contractors and significantly lowering the long-term cost of trade. The provision of technical advisory services from institutions such as the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and the Bureau of Meteorology mentioned in Wong’s speech could help African financial bodies integrate advanced climate-resilience measures into the initial design and planning phase of major transport projects, making them structurally sound against increasing weather volatility. This focus on resilient transport infrastructure and climate-related expertise corresponds with Wong’s emphasis on using Australian institutions to support “resilient transport infrastructure” within Australia’s wider sphere of interest.
This approach would extend to cooperation with key democratic partners, notably Japan, with a Partnership for Quality Infrastructure in place that already prioritises transparency and sustainability. Australia could formalise a Quality Assurance Partnership with Japan to jointly review and co-sign the governance and procurement components of Japanese-funded African infrastructure. This would allow Japan to lead on finance while Australia contributes the integrity oversight and technical standards to ensure a shared benchmark for high-quality, low-risk projects. Such multilateral engagement is crucial.
A dual carriageway between Nairobi and Kampala could serve more than 80 million people (Christopher Burke)
A targeted approach of this nature is deeply pragmatic, aligning with Australia’s commercial objectives, particularly its extensive footprint in African resources. Addressing these challenges faced by landlocked countries plays directly to Australia’s comparative advantage in remote logistics and infrastructure maintenance, supports Australian businesses looking for export opportunities and complements Australia’s significant interests in African extractives by ensuring stable and secure supply chains.
Wong’s candid acknowledgement of seeking to “stabilise relations with China” and prioritising “dialogue with China at every level” opens a path for careful influence. Australia could use this dialogue to position itself as a quality assurance partner in Africa, leveraging its governance reputation to advise on the standards and procurement of Chinese-backed corridor projects to ensure African states secure genuinely sustainable outcomes without Australia deploying large-scale capital itself. Australia’s strength lies in the provision of the essential intellectual and technical leverage that transforms third-party financial inputs into enduring economic output.
About the author
Christopher Burke
Christopher Burke is a senior advisor at WMC Africa, a communications and advisory agency located in Kampala, Uganda.
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