As Senegal prepares to become a gas exporter, Adolphus Washington analyses the challenges ahead. Last month Senegal’s president Macky Sall announced the discovery of the largest deep water gas fields in West Africa by the US company Kosmos Energy. Production in the gas fields can translate into a massive windfall for Senegal’s Emerging Plan, which is the government’s economic initiative planned through 2035.

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is steadily turning inward to Africa to stimulate investment, trade and development. In June of last year, Egypt signed a tripartite agreement between three regional organizations (COMESA, SADC, and the EAC) to create an integrated market of 26 countries with a cumulative GDP that’s more than 50% of the continent income.

President Yahya Jammeh has developed a reputation for surprising announcements. What might be the reasons behind his latest? In a surprise announcement last month, President Yahya Jammeh declared The Gambia an Islamic Republic. In a state TV broadcast, Jammeh – who has gained a reputation for making unexpected pronouncements since becoming the country’s leader in 1994 – pointed to the fact 95% of the population is Muslim and said he wanted to dismantle any remaining vestiges of colonialism.

In 2013, native and French military forces celebrated the relatively successful ousting of Tuareg rebels and Islamist factions in Mali. Two years later in June 2015, Mali bowed to international pressure and signed a peace agreement with an alliance of Tuareg and Arab-led rebels called the Coordination of Movements for Azawad (CMA).

Only time will tell if China-Africa forum initiatives will mirror the theme of a ‘Win-Win Cooperation.’. This year’s sixth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), held in Johannesburg, South Africa, on December 4-5, promoted the theme of ‘Africa-China Progressing Together: Win-Win Cooperation for Common Development’.

By tapping into its special relationship with the African continent, India may be able to close the gap left by China. The arrival of India as a major player on the African continent was marked by the third annual India Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) held in New Delhi. At least 40 heads of state and 2,000 delegates from across Africa continent attended the four-day event held at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium.

President Jammeh came to power through a military coup in 1994 and has maintained control of Gambia through state coercion and force, thus engendering a culture of silence among its citizens. In spite of this silence, the Gambian government has reported approximately four attempts by military personnel to oust President Jammeh from power since 2000.

Burundi’s upcoming presidential elections set for June 2015 have been overshadowed by uncertainty and ambiguity, as current President Pierre Nkurunziza aims to stand for a controversial third term. The opposition views President Nkurunziza’s decision to run as a clear violation of article 96 of Burundi’s Constitution, which limits an incumbent to two five-year terms.

GRI sat down with Malick Badjie, director and head of Investment Solutions at Silk Invest, to discuss investment outlook in core African markets for 2015 and beyond. In 2008 when the global recession rocked Western markets, investors shifted attention to riskier markets in the global South for untapped opportunities.

Burkina Faso’s president Blaise Compaoré was ousted in a coup d’etat after 27 years in office. Still, the next elected head of state faces significant economic hurdles to regaining social stability. On October 31st one of Africa’s longest serving presidents, Blaise Compaoré, became yet another president forced out of power.

Unification is easy on paper but it takes political will to make it work. Cameroon, still deeply divided along colonial-era language lines, has this lesson to teach the continent. The west African nation’s French-speaking political elite pay lip service to notions of “integration”, but remain unwilling to take the steps necessary to share power with their Anglophone compatriots.