CNN hosts inaugural “Global Perspectives” event in London
Inaugural event took place Monday with a focus on the African continent, convening high profile speakers including Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Uzo Aduba, Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka & more
On Monday, CNN hosted the first edition of its new events franchise “Global Perspectives”.
The November 3 event, titled “Global Perspectives: On Africa,” featured a slate of high-powered conversations – expertly guided by CNN journalists – about the big ideas, bold leadership and dynamic economies shaping the African continent.
It brought together over 300 attendees from across the globe, and onstage speakers included prominent names such as World Trade Organization Director-General Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, celebrated author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, award-winning actress and activist Uzo Aduba, and Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Judith Suminwa Tuluka.
Afreximbank and MTN sponsored the event with branding and activations on site as well as associated promotion and advertising alignment with Global Perspectives content across CNN platforms.
Audiences around the world can catch up with video content and key takeaways from the day at cnn.com/globalperspectives.
A selection of images can be found here: Global Perspectives On Africa Gallery
Additionally, a special half-hour program, hosted by CNN anchor Zain Asher, showcasing the best of “Global Perspectives: On Africa” will air on CNN International at the following times:
Saturday 15th November 2025
0830 GMT | 0930 WAT | 1030 SAST | 1130 EAT
1730 GMT | 1830 WAT | 1930 SAST | 2030 EAT
Sunday 16th November 2025
1830 GMT | 1930 WAT | 2030 SAST | 2130 EAT
Monday 17th November 2025
0400 GMT | 0500 WAT | 0600 SAST | 0700 EAT
Saturday 29th November 2025
1300 GMT | 1400 WAT | 1500 SAST | 1600 EAT
Sunday 30th November 2025
0430 GMT | 0530 WAT | 0630 SAST | 0730 EAT
The show will also repeat on select dates in December.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
WTO director-general Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on navigating ‘the greatest disruption in trade in 80 years’
Nigerian economist and World Trade Organization director-general Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala called the ripple effect of Trump administration tariffs “the greatest disruption in trade in 80 years.”
She also said that she agreed with some of the criticisms leveled at the organization by the US. “The crisis is an opportunity to reform (the WTO),” she told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, calling for greater transparency and conceding that decision-making “sometimes … does result in paralysis.”
Beyond the bureaucracy, the director-general was bullish about the continent’s prospects, pointing to an IMF projection of 4% growth in Africa in 2025 and 2026. “Most of Africa’s mineral resources are yet to be discovered,” she said, while pointing to the continent containing “67% of the world’s arable land,” and 22% of the world’s working population. “But how do we make this work for us?” she added.
Okonjo-Iweala called for “careful thinking” on tensions in Nigeria, after US President Donald Trump suggested the United States may take military action there to protect the nation’s Christians. Okonjo-Iweala, who previously served as Nigeria’s finance minister, said “This is an incredibly complex question. The situation is very difficult and needs careful thought.
“It has religious issues involved in it, it has resource issues involved in it, it has different complexities. So, I just think we need careful thinking through.”
“It is time for Africa,” says Europe’s ambassador to the African Union
Europe’s ambassador to the African Union Javier Perez told delegates “It is time for Africa,” in a discussion on the continent’s economic partnerships.
“Our message today is a hopeful one from Europe,” he told CNN’s Zain Asher. “We need to give Africa its rightful place in the world, on trade, on investment, on international, for Africa as a member of the G20. Let’s continue that way, let’s go all the way to the Security Council. Let’s give Africa a chance.”
Dr. Rania Al-Mashat: Diversification is key to unlocking Africa’s economic potential
“What we’re trying to do with all our African colleagues is to try and move away from the exports of minerals into a phase of industrialization,” Al-Mashat told CNN’s Zain Asher.
“There has to be a move from potential to actually being able to talk about the performance of the continent, and this can only happen if there are more policies which are being adopted by countries from within the continent, and co-ordinated diplomacy.”
DR Congo seeking peace, says Prime Minister Tuluka
The prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Judith Suminwa Tuluka, called on Rwanda to “accept a ceasefire” between the two countries. Decades-long fighting involving scores of militia groups has persisted, despite a peace agreement brokered by the Trump administration this year.
“Today, the most important (thing) is peace,” Tuluka told CNN’s Melissa Bell.
The Trump-led deal was signed by the foreign ministers of Rwanda and DR Congo in Washington on June 27.
“We will never accept that our population keeps suffering because of war,” she reflected. “We are convinced that only peace will enable us to have a positive evolution for the country,” she added.
“The biggest growth we see in business is in Africa,” says DP World CEO
The CEO of DP World has highlighted how important African routes are to his company, one of the world’s largest logistics firms.
“We are everywhere in the world – the biggest growth we see in business is in Africa,” Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem told CNN’s Richard Quest. “One port we have in Senegal does more business than all our ports in Europe combined,” he added. “Africa has the highest growth, the population in 15 years will be two billion – they will surpass China, they will surpass India.”
Africa’s imported food crops the “elephant in the room,” says Dr. Florence Wambugu, CEO of Africa Harvest
“Why can’t Africa feed itself when we have all this arable land?” CNN’s Larry Madowo asks Dr. Florence Wambugu, CEO of Africa Harvest, Dr. Ismahane Elouafi, executive managing director of CGIAR and Sunny Verghese, co-founder and group CEO, Olam Group Limited.
The “elephant in the room” is Africa’s “$40B in imported food crops” every year, said Wambugu, and “leaders who prefer to import rather than invest in their countries.”
Technology adoption and investing in the continent’s hundreds of millions of small-scale farmers is the path forward, argued the panel, speaking during Soil to Scale at CNN’s Global Perspectives.
Elouafi said per hectare, Africa is producing 20-40% the yield of a highly developed nation.
“The green revolution we’ve been talking about for so long has skipped Africa,” she said, adding that the solutions are there to bridge the yield gap relatively quickly.
To feed the world’s growing population between now and 2100, Verghese said “593 million hectares” of new agricultural land needs to be found, “equal to twice the size of India,” she added.
Africa, which contains more than 60 percent of the world’s remaining uncultivated land, represents a huge opportunity.
US “looks like an African country” says Dr. Mo Ibrahim
During a lively panel hosted by CNN’s Jim Scuitto, Mo Ibrahim Foundation founder and chair Dr. Mo Ibrahim describes the new world disorder as a “wake up call.”
“There’s no crisis without a silver lining,” he said. “What’s happening around the world is a call to action.”
Ibrahim bemoaned the inertia of the UN Security Council, the disempowerment of the United Nations and other institutions, and poked fun at the US.
“The fraying of the international order, the collapse of rule of law globally, the rise of strongmen … Your country now,” he told Scuitto, “if you’ll allow me, is very familiar to me, because it just looks like an African country. It’s very familiar to me, so I’m very comfortable with you guys.”
“Without peace you cannot have development,” Ibrahim added regarding the African continent, saying that conflict has never delivered for its people.
“My art comes from my background,” says actress Uzo Aduba
“I would say foundationally, a lot of my art comes from my background which is my Nigerian heritage,” the “Orange is The New Black” star told CNN’s Zain Asher.
“The spirit of that tenacity, the spirit of that discipline, the spirit of that vision, and understanding the full connection cellularly that it would require for me to get to where I wanted to is what I bring to my work – and that is uniquely African,” she said.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: “Our storytelling needs to be more culturally confident”
The final conversation of the day saw Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie speak with CNN’s Zain Asher about the power of stories.
In her work, Adichie celebrates the plurality of culture, identity, and perspective. Now, the acclaimed author of “Purple Hibiscus,” “Americanah” and “Half of a Yellow Sun” is calling on a new generation of writers to foreground their stories.
“I grew up reading books and being very curious about the world – but also knowing very clearly who I was,” the author said. “I think that there’s something about that kind of rootedness that makes you assume your central place in the world.”
“Our storytelling needs to be more culturally confident. We have to assume that we are at the center,” she added.