Chapter 1109 Four-Nation Conference
Being so close to these more developed cities in East Africa made Klein feel that the Belgian colony was just like a large rural area. In fact, it was not even a large rural area. Although through immigration, the agriculture of the Belgian Congo has improved, but Generally speaking, the situation is still very serious with the vast land and sparse population.
Of course, if you don’t compare the entire Belgian Congo, but only Pointe-Noire City, the situation will be much better. As the core of the Belgian Congo, Pointe-Noire City’s population has grown to more than hundreds of thousands, and the city size is still considerable.
The development of Pointe-Noire was actually influenced by East Africa. East Africa's new western development also provided opportunities for the development of Pointe-Noire. A large number of goods from the Belgian Congo colony were exported to East Africa through Pointe-Noire.
Of course, this is also related to Belgium's basic strength as a medium-sized industrial power. Even without the influence of East Africa, Belgium can develop Pointe-Noire, with East Africa mainly playing a driving role.
Guman said to Klein: "Your Excellency, Mr. Klein, now everyone has seen the scenery of Bangui City. I will lead you to the city hall. Special Envoy Morris has been waiting there for a long time."
Governor Klein nodded and said, "Okay, maybe we can have some fun in Bangui City after the meeting."
Subsequently, under Guman's arrangement, members of the Belgian delegation rode in a convoy organized by the East African government and drove towards the city center.
This time when the Belgians came to Bangui, they were actually invited by East African officials. Not only Belgium, but also the Kingdom of South Germany and Germany were also invited. East Africa planned to hold an international conference in Bangui.
As the capital of Oubangui Province, Bangui has always been the economic and political center of northwest East Africa, as well as a transportation hub and a regional cooperation and exchange center.
To the north is the Kingdom of South Germany, and to the west is the German colony of Cameroon. After the second Moroccan crisis, France has agreed to cede Gabon to Germany, so now the area of the German Cameroon colony has expanded a lot. In addition to East Africa, the Kingdom of South Germany Apart from the three German countries of Germany and Germany, the only remaining colony in the west is the Belgian Congo colony.
East Africa Special Envoy Morris is hosting the governments of the Kingdom of South Germany, German Cameroon and Belgian Congo in Bangui to discuss regional cooperation matters.
Morris said to everyone with a smile on his face: "Welcome to Bangui City. The main purpose of inviting you to come this time is to strengthen trade and cooperation between East Africa and other countries. I believe you can already see it from Bangui City itself. "To bring out our strength in the region, if our four countries can unite, we can accelerate the development of the region and protect the interests of all countries in Africa."
Bangui City is actually not that outstanding in East Africa, but compared with other parts of Africa, it is definitely one of the few big cities.
As one of the political and economic centers in northwestern East Africa, Bangui currently has a population of more than 280,000, which is not small even in Europe.
The construction of Bangui City is particularly outstanding against the background of neighboring countries or regions in East Africa. There are many high-rise buildings, railways, highways, ports and other transportation are all available. All kinds of factories are basically complete, and cars can be seen everywhere on the city streets.
It can be said that the city of Bangui at this time was considered a relatively developed medium-sized city in Europe. In contrast, the Kingdom of South Germany, German Cameroon, and Belgian Congo were like uncivilized lands.
Although many new things have been introduced into their respective jurisdictions under the colonial activities of various countries, the main activities are still based on agriculture and mining, and the shortcomings in population size make it difficult for their respective jurisdictions to develop as fast as East Africa. .
Therefore, East Africa also hopes to show the strength of East Africa to the three countries through the development of Bangui City, thereby taking the initiative in this meeting.
Xavier, the Governor of the German Cameroon Colony, was not as restrained as the members of the delegation from the Kingdom of South Germany and Belgium. He asked Morris: "Special Envoy Morris, if your country is holding a meeting this time, please tell us directly if you have any specific ideas!"
Morris also had a preliminary understanding of Xavier. As the governor of German Cameroon, Xavier implemented Prussian-style colonial policies very well there.
Xavier, who was born as a Junker, can be regarded as a warrior to a certain extent. He carried out iron-blooded suppression and military governance in Cameroon. Of course, this is basically the case in the colonies of other countries, but the Germans are relatively rough.
Morris did not sell out. He said to Xavier: "No problem. In fact, our East African government organized everyone this time and held this meeting in Bangui. The purpose is still very obvious, that is, to discuss the four countries' relations with China. Non-regional cooperative development matters.”
The Central African region, also known as Central Africa, includes the vast areas of Cameroon, Chad, Gabon, the two Congos, the Central African Republic and Angola in the past.
Now this area happens to be occupied by East Africa, Germany, Belgium and the Kingdom of South Germany. Therefore, in order to extend the borders of its own economic development and to establish an economic circle dominated by East Africa, the East African government decided to use Central Africa as a model to conduct preliminary explore.
Governor Klein asked, "What are the specific plans for East Africa?"
Morris replied: "The location of Central Africa can be said to be relatively important. It is a land passage connecting East Africa and West Africa. It is also close to the Gulf of Guinea. Our East Africa and West Africa can be said to be the essence of the African continent, south of the Sahara. Therefore, in the economic development of Africa, Central Africa, which connects our country and West Africa, is very prominent."
"So we East Africa intends to join hands with your country to jointly develop Central Africa, so as to promote the development of local infrastructure and economy, establish a Central African Economic Cooperation Organization, better promote the development of various countries, and maximize everyone's interests under a unified framework."
Morris's answer also made the other three countries present understand the real thoughts of East Africa. Belgium was still quite moved. With this cooperation framework, it means that East Africa respects Belgium's interests in Africa. As for the Kingdom of South Germany, it has always stood on the side of East Africa.
Only the Germans are temporarily hesitant. East Africa wants to dominate the economy of Central Africa. Can't Germany do the same?
If East Africa did not exist, it might still be possible with Germany's national strength, but without East Africa, Germany would not be so interested in the Cameroon colony. Just like in the previous life, once the war broke out, Germany could abandon its overseas colonies at any time and focus on the European battlefield.
So after a little thought, Cameroon Governor Xavier realized that Germany would definitely not be able to stop East Africa's actions, and there was no need to stop it. This was a good thing for Germany.
After all, Germany did not have the ability to develop Cameroon, so it could not gain benefits from the Cameroon colony. If it could be achieved through East Africa, it would be more beneficial for Germany.
East Africa is different from Germany. As a local snake, East Africa's development cost for the surrounding areas is much lower than Germany. After all, Germany wants to develop Cameroon alone, and everything must be introduced from the local area. The cost is very high, and the most fatal point is that except for East Africa, the other three countries in Central Africa do not have sufficient population.
Because of the tropical rainforest climate, the population of Central Africa has never been large. Under Xavier's militarized governance, it has consumed a lot of people, so Germany does not have enough manpower to develop Cameroon.
So after repeated consideration, Xavier also expressed his agreement, but this matter still needs to be consulted with the country. As for Belgium, the same is true, only the Kingdom of South Germany is an exception.
The Kingdom of South Germany itself was supported by East Africa, so the cooperation between the two countries has never been interrupted.