On Thursday, representatives of the European Union (EU) and African Union (AU) met in Brussels to discuss strategies to face common challenges and promote respectful and long-lasting bilateral relations.
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“Europe needs a stable, secure, and prosperous Africa, from which we benefit from exports of energy, food, and precious stones,” French President Emmanuel Macron acknowledged and called to reinvent mutual partnership.
To achieve this goal, France asked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to allocate additional Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) to African countries. Using these international reserve accounting currencies, African nations could obtain foreign exchange to purchase those goods and services necessary for their economic recovery in the short term.
AU President Macky Sall urged other European countries to do the same given that the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted a severe recession in most African countries. “The first ones to suffer a possible failure of our continent will be Europeans,” he pointed out.
France has also suggested launching a US$170-billion facility to finance projects proposed by Africans. Among them, for example, is the launch of satellites to expand Internet access in their countries.
“We have also to give electricity to the 600 million Africans who do not yet have access to it,” Macron stated and backed the efforts of Seychelles President Wavel Ramkalawan to fight climate change on his Island.
The EU President Ursula von der Leyen promised to check whether the conditions are met for the maintenance of her institution’s military training and police missions in Mali, which is governed by a Military Junta since May 2021.