“Partnership matters more than ever” EU Ambassador Javier Niño Pérez: EU deepens ties with Africa at the 39th African Union Summit

The EU participated actively from the opening to the closing of the Summit including in several side events. The core highlight of the EU-AU partnership was the EU’s contribution on preparing the Africa Water Vision 2063, along with the relevant department of the AU that the heads of state assembly adopted.

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The EU maintained a robust presence throughout the summit and on the margins; participating actively on peace and security discussions, events on education, youth and gender, the Africa Business Forum, Climate change and Information Integrity, Africa continental free trade area discussion between the ACFTA secretariate and the EU heads of mission, a high-level panel involving UNESCO and the Republic of Ghana that discussed the Common African Position on the Restitution of Heritage Resources and so many more.

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In a strong display of multilateral partnership, the African Union Commission, the European Union and the United Nations launched the Spotlight Initiative Africa Regional Programme 2.0 (SIARP 2.0). Kicked off on the margins of the summit, this second phase of the initiative represents a renewed, high-level commitment to eliminating violence and promoting reproductive health throughout Africa. Ambassador Javier Niño Pérez, representing the European Union, underscored that “advancing gender equality and ending violence against women and girls is a matter of governance, stability, and sustainable development”. He further remarked that “at a time of geopolitical fragmentation and competing narratives, the partnership between Africa and Europe matters more than ever”.

A day ahead of the AU Summit, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni convened the second Italy-Africa summit in Addis Ababa reviewing progress on the Mattei Plan two years after launching the strategy to build partnerships with African nations.