In a gleaming new convention centre on the shores of Angola’s capital, Luanda, most of Europe and Africa’s political leaders are meeting for the seventh summit between the European Union and the African Union (AU), which represents 55 countries on the continent.
Angola’s president since 2017, João Lourenço, is also president of the AU. His country could be a microcosm for so many other countries in Africa. It has abundant resources (in Angola’s case, oil and fossil fuels) but they have never been exploited to their full potential. Only metres away from the impressive new buildings on the seafront are the shacks and shantytowns of Angola’s poor. There are glaring deficits in physical infrastructure (from roads to energy to technology), employment, education, industry and connectivity.
There remains the wide chasm between potential and the everyday reality of impoverishment for so many of the population of this former Portuguese colony.
Over the two days of the conference, leaders from both blocs have been discussing how they can improve relations and mutuality across many key areas: namely peace, security, governance, multilateralism, migration and mobility.
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In a way, the themes of the G20, held over the weekend in South Africa, are being continued here as political leaders grapple with the challenges of closing the prosperity gap between the developing south and the prosperous north.
For their parts, Europe and the US are also playing catch-up with China and Russia, both of which have built up significant interests in Africa over the decades, particularly in exploiting the precious minerals such as cobalt which are essential components of modern technology, as well as investing in traditional mining, infrastructure and finance.
At the diplomatic level, Europe has tried to frame its approach in accessing these resources as a partnership, where African states will be equal beneficiaries, and will not be exploited.
One third of Africa’s total trade is with Europe, making it Africa’s largest trading partner. The EU is also Africa’s largest investor, with €240 billion spent in 2023.
As European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said at the summit on Monday, the continent of Africa has the resources and the potential to shape the global economy over the coming years.
“It holds 60 per cent of the world’s best solar resources – at a time when global demand for clean energy is soaring. It has 30 per cent of the world’s mineral reserves – resources that will fuel the industries of the future. So the opportunities are clear,” she said.
The EU has put great emphasis at the conference on the Global Gateway, its commitment to invest €150 billion in Africa by 2027. Currently, it lies only €30 billion shy of that target. Among the initiatives are partnerships to bring high-speed internet to more than the 10 per cent of Africans who currently have it; to help African businesses reach global markets; and to encourage more cross-border co-operation within Africa to allow the sale of goods and services to neighbouring countries.
In his address to the summit, Taoiseach Micheál Martin described the EU as “the largest peace process in history” and said it could be a reference point for multilateralism in Africa.
“In conflicts on the African and European continents, we have seen many examples of blatant disregard for the rule of law, clear breaches of principles of the UN Charter and international humanitarian law.
“I am strongly of the view that despite these serious challenges, this is not the time to resile from multilateralism or to retreat to narrow national interests but to double down on the importance of multilateralism to address the many and interconnected challenges we face globally,” he said, adding that history showed that nationalism and protectionism did not work.
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Talking to the media in Luanda on Monday, Mr Martin said that Europe sometimes has got bad press in relation to Africa.
“The EU is the biggest humanitarian donor into Africa, with fewer strings attached than others,” he argued. “I know that this will continue with [more EU] support for energy and access to electricity, [for addressing] the food issue, and for building stronger support for adaptation, because climate change is happening already, with some horrific consequences.”
