Africa Euro Summit: EU announces massive investment plan for Africa
The EU played host to more than 40 African leaders on Thursday and Friday in a bid to reassert its influence on a continent where China and Russia have made hefty investment inroads amid increased security threats in several parts of Africa.
The press conference comes a day after France and its allies fighting Islamist militants in Mali said they would begin their military withdrawal from the country.
The European Union has announced an investment plan for Africa worth more than 150 billion euros, or about 170 billion dollars.
Leaders of the EU and African Union held a summit in Brussels on Thursday and Friday.
They adopted a document that includes the investment plan.
The funding will come from public and private sources and will be spent on projects such as fighting climate change and building digital infrastructure.
The plan is a part of the EU’s global infrastructure investment initiative which was announced last year.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called it an alternative to China’s Belt and Road initiative.
China is enhancing its presence in Africa with infrastructure building and loans. Von der Leyen stressed the EU’s intention to also strengthen ties with Africa.
She told a news conference that “Europe wants to remain Africa’s first partner” and that the EU is “moving from words to action.”
Officials from the EU and the AU say they will continue discussions on ways to secure coronavirus vaccines in Africa, including a waiver of vaccine patent protections. They say they will hold a meeting on the matter in spring.
Senegalese President Macky Sall, French President Emmanuel Macron, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, and European Council President Charles Michel make closing remarks Friday at the end of the two-day European Union-African Union summit in Brussels.
