Ntsoaki Motaung
February 16, 2022
Maseru – The Prime Minister Dr Moeketsi Majoro will partake in the 6th European Union and African Union (EU/AU) Summit to be held in Brussels Belgium tomorrow, where the main focus will be on Africa’s Economic Development, covid-19 vaccine independence, energy transformation and security.
The meeting will see some 40 heads of states from Africa attending physically including Dr Majoro to explore opportunities for renewed and deeper partnership.
Leaders are expected to discuss how both continents can build greater prosperity hence the launch of an ambitious Africa-Europe Investment Package, taking into account global challenges such as climate change and the current health crisis. They should also be talking about tools and solutions to promote stability and security through a renewed peace and security architecture.
A series of thematic roundtables will also be organized and topics to be discussed will include growth financing, health systems and vaccine production, agriculture and sustainable development, education, culture and vocational training, migration and mobility, private sector support and economic integration, peace, security and governance and climate change and energy transition, digital and transport.
EU Council Press European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, announced in a statement on October 28, 2021 that the EU aimed to produce 3.5 billion doses of vaccines in 2022 and that most of them will be exported. She stated that the main topic of the EU-Africa Summit will be the achievement of vaccine independence of the continent.
Meanwhile, EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell said that the EU has to look at Africa positively, rather than only through the lens of migration problems, and that Africa offers countless opportunities.
Underlining that the problems of Africa are also the problems of the EU, Borrell drew attention to the security crisis in the Sahel region, saying that the EU’s security begins in the Sahel and called for better and expanded relations with this region. The previous EU-African Union summit was held in Ivory Coast from 29-30 November, 2017.
