the 7th Africa-Europe Summit: Africa and Europe pledge to boost trade and cooperation in strategic minerals
Participants in the 7th Africa-Europe Summit, concluding in Angola, pledged to boost trade exchanges, tackle irregular migration, support the development of industry in Africa and diversify the continent’s exports.
The joint declaration of the African Union and the European Union included several commitments, including pledging to support and promote multilateralism and developing cooperation in the field of strategic minerals.
The crises on the African continent were among the attention of the summit participants, as they condemned the atrocities committed by the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces, especially in the city of El Fasher, and affirmed their support for the talks in Washington and Doha aimed at restoring peace to the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The summit’s 10-page final declaration noted Europe’s desire for access to vital minerals and Africa’s need for jobs and economic growth.
The declaration also included a reference to the uncertainty in trade policies and volatility of tariffs imposed by the United States on African and European Union countries.
Angolan Foreign Minister Teti Antonio said the summit discussed peace, security and governance, but above all we stressed the need to work together to ensure shared prosperity and preserve the values of solidarity, cooperation and dialogue.
For his part, European Council President António Costa said that Africa is rich in natural resources that are essential for the dual transformation of energy and digital, stressing that its greatest wealth is its human capital and its youth.
The African Union and the European Union have been cooperating for a quarter of a century, and analysts believe that relations between the two parties need to be renewed if Europe is to maintain its role as a key partner, in light of great competition between major powers on the African continent.
