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Africa's external relations are currently undergoing major changes. Non-traditional state actors like China and India are reviving their ties with African economies and thereby affecting power relations between African states and traditional partners. Meanwhile, high commodity prices and improved credit ratings make external finance available for African governments. This article examines how non-traditional state actors affect the possibility of African governments setting and funding their own development priorities. It argues that while the current situation may increase the policy autonomy for African economies this is largely a consequence of the increased availability of external finance - and not just from non-traditional state actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the rise of foreign direct investments (FDI) in Africa over the last 12 months. The inflows reached $38.8 billion in 2006, which is record-breaking 26.5 percent rise. According to the author, there are diverse key sources of inflows and a rise in the investments led by China, India, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan, and Malaysia. The challenge of Africa is to seize this opportunity to help promote domestic productive capacities to allow for a long-term wider economic and human development.