EU and African leaders meet for a two-day summit on Thursday, seeking to reboot ties with pledges of major investment in the face of competition from China and Russia.
Relations between the two continents have been hampered by a raft of problems: from disputes over coronavirus vaccines to curbing illegal migration, a wave of coups in Africa, and the growing clout of Russian mercenaries on the continent.
“Our common ambition, Africans and Europeans, for this summit, is to achieve a renewed, modernized and more action-oriented partnership,” said Senegal’s President Macky Sall, who currently chairs the African Union.
President Emmanuel Macron of France, whose country holds the European Union’s rotating presidency, hopes the first joint summit since 2017 can burnish his grand ambition of forging an “economic and financial New Deal with Africa”.
The EU is aiming to convince the 40 African leaders in Brussels that Europe is their “most reliable partner” by fleshing out an investment initiative that aims to mobilize 150 billion euros ($170 billion) of public and private funds over the next seven years.
The scheme is the first regional part of the EU’s Global Gateway — a $300- billion-euro ($340-billion) worldwide investment blueprint meant to rival China’s Belt and Road initiative.
The EU is eyeing a dozen ambitious projects to bolster internet access, transport links and renewable energy as it seeks to provide an alternative to cheap loans from Beijing. But details on funding remain vague, and the projects are still to be agreed on with the African side.
African leaders are instead pushing for a far more concrete step of getting EU nations to allow the International Monetary Fund to allocate tens of billions of dollars in further aid.
