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  Title	Europe and Africa agree on new commitments and investments
  ID	28335135
  External ID	af80dcfad21fe7d2dd6b9fa08308e8a6
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  Published Date	Nov. 24, 2025, 6 p.m.
  Summary	Luanda, 24 November 2025 Leaders from the European Union and the African Union are gathering in Luanda, Angola, to take forward the powerful commitment made in Cairo 25 years ago – to work together…
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  URL	https://ieu-monitoring.com/editorial/europe-and-africa-agree-on-new-commitments-and-investments/860344
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  Content ID	35987886
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  Content	Luanda, 24 November 2025 Leaders from the European Union and the African Union are gathering in Luanda, Angola, to take forward the powerful commitment made in Cairo 25 years ago – to work together for peace and prosperity, sustainable development and new opportunities. President von der Leyen and President Costa, together with High Representative/Vice-President Kaja Kallas, are participating in this 7th edition of the AU-EU Summit. Together with last week's Europe-South Africa Leaders Meeting and the first ever G20 Summit held on African soil, this highlights the central role of Africa on the world's stage. And as the world changes, our partnership must evolve and grow even closer. President von der Leyen said: '25 years ago at our first Summit in Cairo, Europe and Africa decided to build a common future together. In Luanda today, we celebrate the spirit of Cairo. We are taking the unique partnership between Europe and Africa to the next level. With new projects under Global Gateway, Europe's investment plan for a better-connected world, we open a new era in trade and cooperation between our two markets. And we will step up our cooperation on clean energy and critical raw materials projects that strengthen value chains and create value jobs. This is how Europe builds genuine and enduring partnerships.' Through Global Gateway, the EU has already mobilised €120 billion for projects all across Africa. Large-scale investments and expertise have been put forward, notably through 138 Global Gateway flagship projects with Africa in strategic sectors such as green energy, transport corridors, digitalisation, health systems, education and skills development. The EU is well on track to surpass the initial target of €150 billion by 2027. Looking ahead, Leaders committed to take the EU-AU cooperation one step forward through: Boosting economic integration: The European Commission signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat (AfCFTA), accompanied by a new €25.5 million funding. The aim is to connect the two vast Single Markets together – Europe's and Africa's. Europe already supports Africa's economic integration from within, with 1.2 billion euro across multiple programmes. This MoU will mean a stronger trade and investment dialogue between us. Investing in infrastructure and critical raw materials: An additional €600 million package will support infrastructure investments and feasibility studies for strategic corridors, with a focus on critical raw materials projects. Embracing the digital revolution : Team Europe will bring €43 million to the Africa-Europe Digital Innovation Bridge 2.0 to boost digital entrepreneurship in 14 African countries. The EU will also contribute another €122 million to the Finnfund Global Connect programme, of which €32 million to expand subsea cables, fibre networks, data centres and mobile payment systems in Africa. Accelerating climate finance and the clean energy transition: The EU is the largest global public climate finance provider and as part of this commitment, the EU is supporting a Team Europe Initiative on Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience in Africa, increasing its Team Europe contribution to €3.4 billion. In addition, President von der Leyen and President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa hosted the final pledging event of the 'Scaling Up Renewables for Africa' campaign , which mobilised €15.5 billion for clean energy and access to electricity across the African continent. The European Union led the pledging effort, with more than €15.1 billion. Supporting young businesses: new EU investments worth €94 million in young businesses and entrepreneurs in Ghana, The Gambia, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Senegal, Niger, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Uganda, Madagascar, Cameroon, and Sierra Leone. Advancing peace, security and governance: Leaders committed to strengthening AU-led mediation efforts in conflict-affected zones like the Great Lakes and advancing African-led peace operations, such as those in Somalia or against Boko Haram. Both sides will also further deepen cooperation on counterterrorism and the fight against organised crime, as well as enhance collaboration on cyber, maritime and space security. The Summit offered an opportunity for Leaders to take stock of progress made since the last Summit in 2022. As highlighted in the joint monitoring report to be published today, the EU and the AU have delivered on a number of joint priorities in different policy areas. Background Together, the AU and the EU represent and carry the voices of more than 1.9 billion people. In a time of geopolitical uncertainty, the 7th AU-EU Summit in Luanda, themed 'Promoting Peace and Prosperity through Effective Multilateralism', highlighted the strong and solid relationship between Europe and Africa and the shared priorities of both continents. The high-level participation at the Summit underlined that the EU and the AU are advancing on their partnership of equal and mutual interest. This support is taking shape via Global Gateway through concrete, high-impact projects across the continent. Key initiatives include the Lobito Corridor, linking the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia and Angola and backed by around €2 billion from the EU, or the Manufacturing and Access to Vaccines, Medicines and Health Technologies initiative (MAV+), which has mobilised around €2 billion of EU investments in a Team Europe approach to scale up local vaccine production and ensure equitable access to safe and affordable health products in Africa. In the energy sector, the Africa-Europe Green Energy Initiative is working to provide at least 50 GW of new renewable energy generation capacity and to give access to electricity to 100 million people by 2030. On mobility and skills, more than 30 000 African and 18 000 European students have exchanged knowledge and experience through EU-funded programmes such as Erasmus+ and Intra-Africa Academic Mobility Scheme, since 2022. In preparation for the Summit, engagements with key stakeholders took place through the AU-EU Business Forum and the Civil Society Youth Forum to gather insights from the private sector and civil society and young people. For more information Opening remarks by President von der Leyen at the opening ceremony of the AU-EU Summit Factsheet on EU-AU partnership EU-Africa: Global Gateway Investment Package – International Partnerships Joint Monitoring Report on the implementation of the AU-EU Joint Vision for 2030 (will be available later) Quote 25 years ago at our first Summit in Cairo, Europe and Africa decided to build a common future together. In Luanda today, we celebrate the spirit of Cairo. We are taking the unique partnership between Europe and Africa to the next level. With new projects under Global Gateway, Europe's investment plan for a better-connected world, we open a new era in trade and cooperation between our two markets. And we will step up our cooperation on clean energy and critical raw materials projects that strengthen value chains and create value jobs. This is how Europe builds genuine and enduring partnerships. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission Source – EU Commission Opening speech by President von der Leyen at the 7th European Union – African Union Summit Luanda, 24 November 2025 President Lourenço, President Costa, Chairperson Youssouf, Fellow leaders, Presidents, Prime Ministers, Ladies and Gentlemen, The last time we met in this format was mid-February 2022, just after the global pandemic and just before war returned to Europe. And before global politics became much more competitive and transactional. Since then, our world has changed profoundly. Global trade is more politicised than ever. Tariffs and trade barriers are being wielded aggressively. Export controls have become a tool to damage competitors and extract concessions. Global overcapacity in certain strategic fields has reached an all-time high. This is harming industries – on both our continents. With consequences felt deep inside our societies. In this new reality, Africa and Europe are called to answer the very same questions. How can we create good jobs for our people, and deliver on the aspirations of our youth? How can we derisk and diversify our economies? How can we break free from unsustainable dependencies – while ensuring access to the capital, resources and technologies we need? Excellencies, Fellow leaders, I believe that many of the answers lie in our partnership. In a more confrontational global economy, Africa and Europe need each other more than ever before. And this is what brings us here to Luanda. Today, we can look back on the progress achieved since our last Summit. But more importantly, we will look forward to new opportunities to work together as old friends. But also, as trading partners, investment partners, business partners. We want Africa and Europe to be partners of choice. Excellencies, Fellow leaders, In a world of trade conflicts, a closer partnership between us begins with trade itself. Europe is already your first trading partner by far. One third of Africa's total trade is with Europe, and Africa exports to Europe more than twice as much as to China. Most of our trade has been duty-free and quota-free already for decades, thanks to our free trade deals and preference schemes. But I see room to expand our trade relationship even further. Right across the continent, we are building new infrastructure to connect Africa and Europe. From ports to pipelines. Take the Lobito Corridor. You all know about this ambitious project to bring critical minerals from Zambia and DRC to global markets. But there is much more to it. As we launched the corridor, we also started working with farmers right here in Angola. European companies provided training. They helped local companies align with European standards and expand their export capacity. And this week, the very first shipment of Angolan avocados will leave Lobito bound for Europe. This is how we can make global trade a driver of local growth. And while we connect Africa to global markets, we are also supporting trade within your continent. This is the best way for African companies to scale up and prepare for global competition. With this Summit, we are announcing more support to the African Continental Free Trade Area. The message is clear. Even and especially in these times of global tensions, we believe in the power of trade. Because it delivers for our people and our economies. Excellencies, Fellow leaders, Together with trade comes investment. And this is the second point I would like to address. At our Summit three years ago, I presented our new Global Gateway agenda. And in these three years, you have all seen what Global Gateway stands for. It is more than an infrastructure development programme. It invests in local jobs and local value chains, and this is what makes it unique in the global investment landscape. Other investors might follow a different playbook. They build factories, whether in Africa or in Europe, but staff them with foreign workers. They drill, they mine and they take the profits away. They often leave a legacy of unsustainable debt. This is not Europe's model. When we invest in the local processing of raw materials in Namibia or Zambia. When we build pharmaceutical industries, from Senegal to Rwanda. When we bring data cables to the Maghreb and East Africa. These investments are truly in our mutual interest. They enable to move higher up the global value chains. They create new jobs for African youth, new skills for African researchers, and new business opportunities for African companies. And while doing so, we also create new markets for European companies and strengthen our European supply chains. A true win-win situation. When we launched Global Gateway, we aimed to invest EUR 150 billion in Africa by 2027. So far, we have already mobilised more than EUR 120 billion. We are well on track to meet our target. At a time when other major investors are rethinking their global engagement, Europe's commitment to Africa is here to stay. This leads me to my third and final point, about one sector where it is particularly urgent to scale up investment. The global clean transition is now in full swing. Last year, over 90% of new energy capacity installed worldwide was renewable. Solar and wind have replaced coal as the leading sources of electricity worldwide. But out of the USD 2 trillion invested in clean energy globally in 2024, only 2% came to Africa – the continent with 60% of the world's best solar potential. This cannot be. It leaves 600 million people without electricity, and four in five families without clean cooking options. Every person should have access to clean energy, every continent should enjoy cheap energy. This is why, together with President Ramaphosa, we launched a campaign. We call it 'Scaling Up Renewables in Africa'. And at the G20 earlier this week, we reached EUR 15.5 billion in global pledges. This is great news, and I want to thank the many leaders in this room that contributed. With the contributions made by governments and the private sector, we will bring electricity to millions of people across the continent. This is also why we have pledged at the International Energy Agency's Clean Cooking Summit to deliver as team Europe more than EUR 400 million toward clean cooking projects in Africa. Because the just transition must be for all. And it must be made in Africa. Excellencies, Our partnership was born 25 years ago, at the dawn of a new century. Back then, leaders from Africa and Europe agreed on a fundamental truth. Our continents have different histories, but we share the same destiny. What our predecessors called destiny, has become reality today. Our prosperity is more connected than ever. We both need to build the industries of tomorrow. We both need to make the most of our talent and resources and get rid of dangerous dependencies. The case for Africa and Europe to join forces is overwhelming. Let us find new ways of doing so. Let us walk this path together. Thank you very much and I wish us a very successful Summit. Source – EU Commission Speech by EU CPresident von der Leyen at the EU-AU Business Forum 'Check against delivery' President Lourenço, Chairperson Youssouf, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is a pleasure to start this Summit between Africa and Europe with our Business Forum, because businesses are the lifeblood of our partnership. The work you do is not only about business, trade and investment flows between our continents. You give people a living. You share skills and technology across borders. You build the jobs of the future. And that is what today's Forum is about. Building stronger ties between our industries, our businesses and our people. Since our last Summit in 2022, the global environment has become harsher, but the relationship between Africa and Europe has only grown closer. Europe is Africa's largest trading partner. One third of Africa's total trade is with Europe. And we are Africa's largest investor, with EUR 240 billion in 2023 alone. But we want to achieve much more, together. Because now is the moment to invest in Africa – and to partner with Africa. This continent has everything it takes to deliver prosperity at home and to shape the global economy of tomorrow. It holds 60% of the world's best solar resources – at a time when global demand for clean energy is soaring. It has 30% of the world's mineral reserves – resources that will fuel the industries of the future. So, the opportunities are clear. But realising them will require the right kind of investments. Investments that build value locally, rather than extracting it. That strengthen industrial capacity, rather than create a dependence on imports. That boost local jobs, rather than outsourcing them. This is the partnership that Europe is putting forward. Strong and mutually beneficial. One that helps communities and industries on both continents thrive. At the heart of this investment agenda is Global Gateway. When we launched it, we committed to investing EUR 150 billion in Africa by 2027. And since then, we have mobilised investments of over EUR 120 billion. So we are well on track to meet our target. Global Gateway is not only about large-scale public investment. Its strength lies in governments, banks and businesses – from both continents pulling in the same direction. That is why we are doubling down on efforts to partner with the private sector. I see several of our European companies here today who are already engaged in this work. We have been listening to your ideas, and now we are taking steps to strengthen your involvement. This October, for instance, we announced a new Global Gateway Investment Hub. This platform gives companies the opportunity to bring forward their own project ideas, mobilise support and engage in implementation. This is a major step forward and responds to a request many of you made. You have said: 'Involve us from the very beginning'. We listened. Ladies and Gentlemen, Today, I want to highlight three additional ways how we are making it easier for businesses to invest and grow in Africa. First, on finance. Africa has all the resources for growth. Natural resources in abundance and a young, dynamic and talented population. What is needed now is capital for infrastructure, jobs and innovation. Through Global Gateway, we are working to de-risk, make finance affordable and offer guarantees. This is how we help investors to finance projects in more challenging markets. Take digital connectivity. High-speed internet only reaches 10% of Africans, and it is often unaffordable. But greater digital access starts a chain reaction. Businesses grow faster. New and better jobs are created. Governments collect more in taxes. And investors see stronger returns. This is why Global Gateway focuses on mobilising private investment in digital infrastructure. For instance, we are now expanding our data cables to East and West Africa, and deploying the MEDUSA cable that connects Europe and North Africa. With investments like these, the impact of every euro multiplies – and everyone benefits. My second point is about entrepreneurs. Africa is a young, dynamic continent – with talent, creativity, and drive. It has some of the highest rates of entrepreneurship in the world. But most of these businesses fail within the first few years. As one female entrepreneur in South Africa put it: 'It is the lack of access. Access to infrastructure. Access to global markets. And of course, the lack of funding.' Through Global Gateway, we are helping to fill those gaps. Our support includes seed funding. Training and mentorship. We connect young businesses to local value chains and regional markets. Because when entrepreneurs are given the tools to scale, they create better jobs, greater investment and more innovation. Ladies and Gentlemen, My third point is on regional integration. As a start-up becomes a scale-up, it needs room to grow. It needs supplies, investors and talent. And it needs customers – new markets for expansion. When companies cannot sell or scale to neighbouring countries, growth stops at the border. Costs rise and innovation stalls. But when companies can expand across the region, integration becomes an engine for growth. Local businesses get bigger. Value chains create new jobs. And ultimately, industries become strong enough to compete on the global stage. Europe knows this from our own experience. We see this with our Single Market. That is why our Union has supported the African Continental Free Trade Area since the beginning. And at this Summit, we are boosting our support. The African Development Bank says that a true Single Market could increase continental income by USD 450 billion. That means massive opportunities for Africa and for the world. Distinguished guests, These are a few of the steps we are taking together. But it is time to take our partnership even further and expand our business cooperation. We want to hear from you. The sectors you want to focus on, the barriers you face and the opportunities you see ahead. Let us turn ambition into action. Thank you, and I wish you a successful Forum. Source – EU Commission Forward to your friends Post navigation Avian influenza: EFSA urges enhanced surveillance and strict biosecurity Main results of the EU Foreign Affairs and Trade Council on 24 November 2025
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