Physical Address
Indirizzo: Via Mario Greco 60, Buttigliera Alta, 10090, Torino, Italy
Common ground between the two continents.
In Luanda, Africans and Europeans come face to face with their contradictions and their ambitions. To mark the 25th anniversary of a partnership often marked by tensions, the 7th edition of the European Union – African Union, AU-EU, summit is attempting to relaunch a multilateralism weakened by geopolitical rivalries and the growing influence of new players in Africa. Peace, security, development, migration, these are all important issues on which the two continents are seeking, as best they can, common ground.
Representing the President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, the Minister of State, Minister of Foreign Affairs, National Community Abroad and African Affairs, Ahmed Attaf, took part in the inaugural session of this meeting, the work of which continues on November 24 and 25, indicated a press release from the ministry. Placed under the theme “Promoting peace and prosperity through effective multilateralism”, the AU-EU Summit is being held with the participation of a number of African and European heads of state, the press release specifies. Participants in the first session “will examine issues of peace, security and governance in Africa and discuss the most effective means and mechanisms to strengthen cooperation and partnership between the two parties and address all current challenges in this area,” adds the same source.
It should be noted that the holding of this summit comes at a crucial moment for the two continents, due to a delicate geopolitical situation and commercial tensions between several poles. This summit is also being held in a context marked by the growing influence of powers, namely China, Russia, Turkey and India, on the African continent, and whose presence is increasingly noticed.
According to diplomats, the European Union wants to quickly renew its partnership with Africa because, according to the European Commission, “the EU remains Africa’s leading trading partner, ahead of China, India and the United States.” According to Brussels, at least 90% of African exports penetrate the European market – with 450 million consumers – without customs duties, thanks to preferential agreements covering 19 countries on the continent. Placed under the theme “Strengthening peace and development through effective multilateral cooperation”, this Luanda summit will see the opening of debates around priority issues for the two continents. The discussions will focus in particular on peace and security, development, governance, migration challenges as well as the evaluation of the current partnership strategy between Africa and Europe.
In this regard, there are already several subjects as well as files for which the members of these two organizations are not on the same wavelength. Old differences have been grafted onto new differences of points of view concerning vital questions, such as the digital divide, technological transfer, health challenges, the climate and its economic and social consequences, mobility and aid or even the financing of structuring projects. The challenges are multiple, particularly for Africans, who seek to escape their dependence, to build an integrated economy but above all to unify development policies for the well-being of African populations.
For Europeans, the objective for this summit is to achieve a strong, balanced and forward-looking partnership, as declared by António Costa, the President of the European Council. Furthermore, the Luanda summit is being held in line with Agenda 2063, with the sustainable development goals set by the United Nations but above all with the common AU – EU vision for 2030. Some 80 heads of state and members of government are present in the Angolan capital. Among them, the president of the African Union Commission, the Djiboutian Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, Félix Tshisekedi, the Congolese president, and even Emmanuel Macron, the French president.