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EU-AU Summit
Last week, on 17 and 18 February, the European Union – African Union summit took place, where the leaders of the EU and of the AU as well as of their respective member states met in Brussels to debate several topics. The EU announced several packages of support to bolster health, pandemic recovery, education, and stability.
As the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen said, the EU is the first trading partner and the first investor in Africa. The first regional plan, Global Gateway, is the Africa-Europe plan, with more than €150 billion of investment. Also, the main investments for development will be allocated to green transition, renewables, sustainable agriculture, healthcare, and education.
Moreover, the second point was the joint fight against climate change. Ursula von der Leyen declared that the EU wants more green partnerships, like the ones already in place with South Africa and Morocco, because climate action was one of the main topics during the Summit. She also added that Africa is rich in renewable power, more particularly hydropower, solar power, and wind power, and also in nature, since it has one-quarter of the world’s biodiversity. For these reasons, Africa is essential in the fight against climate change.
Finally, the President of the European Commission finalized with the topic of health, saying that Europe is Africa's number one partner in the fight against COVID-19. She added that the EU is on the right track to reach the goal of sharing at least 450 million vaccine doses by summer 2022. Also, Europe is helping to build up mRNA manufacturing capacity across the African continent. Lastly, Von der Leyen declared that Europe wants to remain Africa's first partner, and is turning its words into action.
Image © European Commission 2022