European Union and African Union (AU) leaders met in Brussels earlier this week to unveil details of the bloc’s $150 billion global bridge plan for Africa, designed to fund infrastructure, energy and food security projects, as the bloc tries to compete with China’s Belt and Road program.
Moussa Faki Mahamat, President of the AU Commission, and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, met in Brussels just months after the European Union-Africa summit was held last February. The Global Gateway represents a shift in EU foreign policy from development aid to investment in key infrastructure projects and in the energy and manufacturing sectors. The plan, originally unveiled in December 2021 as part of the EU’s €300 billion Global Gateway investment strategy – half of which is to be deployed in Africa – is seen by many observers as a counterweight to the China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
“The difference between Global Gateway compared to others who come with infrastructure projects is that there is transparency, there is good governance and there is the absolute objective of having added value and local skills,” Von der Leyen said.
The two leaders also said that the AU-EU partnership must be strengthened following the Russian-Ukrainian war, which poses significant energy and food security challenges for both continents. The 28-nation bloc has pledged investments to facilitate the transition of African countries from fossil fuels, including the Africa-EU Green Initiative, which is expected to lead to investments of $15 billion. Von der Leyen also acknowledged the need for immediate action on the issue of food security in Africa and pledged more than 4.5 billion euros for the continent until 2024.
With Agencies