International Business Times quotes Africa Center Director J. Peter Pham on Guinea-Bissau’s fragile democracy and the risks of a military coup or losing aid dollars amid political unrest:
Apart from cracking down on illegal trade, the international community appears largely disinterested in Guinea-Bissau, which borders Guinea and Senegal. The country’s main trading partners are India and Nigeria, with roughly $250 million in Guinea-Bissau’s exports coming from raw cashew nuts, fish and timber. Former colonial power Portugal remains its No.1 source for imports. Experts said it would not be difficult for countries to sever aid and trading ties with Guinea-Bissau if civilian rule went sour again.
“The international community has to be careful with how reliant the country is on aid,” said J. Peter Pham, Director of the Africa Center at the Atlantic Council think tank in Washington, D.C. “You cut off resources and people get more restive. You might get even more problems.”