During the “Compact with Africa” summit held under the auspices of Germany, Schulz said that his government aims to establish itself as a reliable partner to promote the decarbonization of economic activities on the African continent.
The German government announced on Monday that it will allocate 4 billion euros to green energy projects in Africa until 2030.
In a press conference during the “Compact with Africa” summit held in Berlin at the initiative of the German G20 presidency, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that African countries should “benefit more from their natural resource wealth.”
The “Compact with Africa” aims to improve the economic conditions of the participating countries, to make them more attractive for attracting private foreign investments. The initiative includes Egypt, Ethiopia, Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Morocco, Rwanda, Senegal, Togo and Tunisia.
Schulz said Germany aims to become a reliable long-term partner for African countries, with the ambition to “intensify economic ties and move forward together” towards decarbonisation.
The Chairman of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki, also participated in the press conference, calling for investment in the continent’s capabilities, as well as in energy affairs, in what he described as a beneficial situation for both parties.
Faki spoke of “the exceptional potential that can be exploited, whether for the private sector in Germany, in Europe, or around the world that wants to invest,” which will “allow to obtain profits, which is very profitable,” and secondly, “to generate clean energy.” “Renewable energy, preferably green energy.”
He added: “This is possible and is in the interest of all humanity,” referring to the 30 million square meters of area, 1.45 billion people, and 60% of unexploited agricultural land in Africa, the Congo, and Africa. Several million square kilometers of forests, waters, streams, rivers, and “significant natural resources.”
“But at the same time, it is also a continent where 600 million people do not have access to electricity, and this is when today we are talking about the energy transition.”
Faki was also convinced that investment in Africa “is not development aid” but constitutes a “win-win partnership,” and stressed that “the key is energy.” He insisted on the “good reasons to invest” in the same continent and stressed that Africa is open to “all kinds of partnerships.”
He also stressed that this means that young Africans will not make the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean that has claimed thousands of lives, but rather will be allowed to remain on the continent and be able to take advantage of the conditions there to be able to work. For their people.
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