At the 7th AU-EU Summit, leaders pledged to strengthen agricultural cooperation, noting that, together with fisheries and aquaculture, the sector will drive growth and create jobs across both continents.
Photo: GCIS
The leaders met from 24 to 25 November in the Angolan capital of Luanda, and at the conclusion of the summit, they adopted a joint declaration, which, among others, commits to strengthening agricultural and trade ties.
“We support the commitment towards sustainable and resilient agriculture and food systems transformation […] as strategic initiatives to accelerate progress across key dimensions of agricultural development, including nutrition,” the declaration states.
“We also reemphasise the work of the EU-AU Agriculture Ministerial Conference to foster the alignment of ambitions between CAADP [Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme] and the EU Vision for Agriculture and Food.
“We share the view that agriculture, fisheries, aquaculture, as well as food security are fundamental common interests of Africa and Europe, representing key assets for prosperity and sustainability by contributing to growth and jobs on the two continents.”
The CAADP Strategy and Action Plan has six strategic objectives to transform Africa’s agrifood systems: strengthening sustainable food production, agro-industrialisation, and trade; increasing investment and financing for transformation; ensuring food and nutrition security; improving inclusivity and equitable livelihoods; building robust agrifood systems; and reinforcing agrifood systems governance.
The leaders stressed that increasing uncertainty in trade policies and tariff volatility in global trade pose a challenge for the world economy. In that context, the declaration added, Europe–Africa trade relations remain a source of stability, based on predictable frameworks and a commitment to rules-based trade.
The declaration also said the leaders were committed to strengthening political engagement on trade and economic cooperation. This includes working through existing trade and investment agreements between the EU and some African countries, as well as unilateral preference schemes to attract more investment.
The aim is to stimulate regional and continental integration, achieve sustainable growth, and create decent jobs, especially for the younger generations.
They also welcomed the expansion of the operations of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development into new countries in East and West Africa this year.
Europe remains Africa’s top trade partner
“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,” EU President Ursula von der Leyen said in her opening speech at the summit.
She added that the Lobito Corridor, a major infrastructure project and economic route running from the port of Lobito in Angola across Angola and into the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Zambia, is also benefitting the agriculture sector. The corridor is designed for transporting critical minerals from Zambia and the DRC to global markets.
“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,” Von der Leyen said.
Speaking at the summit, Angolan President João Lourenço said Africa has a desire to establish ever-deeper relations with Europe, seeking mutual benefits in an increasingly troubled world facing complex challenges marked by food, security, energy, humanitarian and health crises, leading to mass migration and global unemployment.
“Europe has everything to gain from partnership and cooperation with a developed Africa, one that does not send illegal immigrants to European countries across the Mediterranean Sea and does not constantly need to ask for donations and debt forgiveness,” he added.
