Europe will allocate a large aid package to create infrastructure on the continent and will create health laboratories in six countries
The sixth summit between the European Union (EU) and Africa sought to “reconfigure” and “renew” relations between these two regions. An ambitious goal in a meeting that was presented as the star summit of the French presidency at the head of the EU. The exchanges between European and African leaders finally resulted in the approval of an investment package worth 150,000 million euros and the transfer to six countries of mRNA technology, essential for the production of vaccines against covid.
The absence of Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea and Sudan was evident in the debate. These four countries have recently suffered coups and the African Union (AUC) maintains its participation suspended.
The program of the meeting, designed between the EU and Africa, made it possible to address the issues that most concern both regions. One of the most important was the promotion of the commercial relationship. “Europe is the largest partner of the African continent and wants to remain so,” said French President Emmanuel Macron. That is why European leaders approved an investment package worth 150 billion euros.
This aid program, called Global Gateaway, will be used to build infrastructure and promote the green transition in Africa. The investments will be articulated through the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The initiative also aims to mobilize the private sector to achieve “transformative impact.”
As highlighted by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, the African continent is rich in hydrogen, green energy and must promote sustainable agriculture, health and education. “The world needs Africa in the fight against climate change,” she added.
Health and terrorist threat
The health crisis in African countries was another of the major topics of the summit. The EU and Africa signed an agreement to promote the manufacture of vaccines against covid at the local level, with the transfer of mRNA technology to six countries. Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Tunisia and South Africa were the nations chosen to participate in this program, which wants to supply vaccines to the continent, where only 11.3% of the population is inoculated, according to the World Health Organization ( WHO).
This institution launched the first laboratory of its kind in South Africa last year, with the same technology that is used in vaccines such as Pfizer and Moderna. In addition, the WHO hopes that, in the future, this center will be able to expand its capacity to manufacture other health products. The initiative will begin in March and the goal is for these laboratories to start producing vaccines as soon as possible.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and several African leaders applauded the initiative, but once again demanded that the patents on the vaccines be lifted so that generics can be produced. In this sense, Von der Leyen assured that the European Commission and the AUC will meet in the spring to discuss this issue.
The fight against terrorism is one of the “great challenges” facing the African continent and in which “Europe cannot leave us alone”, insisted the president of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo. Armed groups have become strong in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa, where they recruit young people to join their ranks. “We do not want our continent to become a permanent residence for terrorists,” said the president.
For their part, the European countries undertook to support local troops “training them and equipping them” to reinforce them in the fight against terrorism.
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