These are the words of popular Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, whose book Americanah was one of the most widely read novels of the past decade:
If all I knew of Africa were of popular images – I too would think that Africa was a place of beautiful landscapes, beautiful animals, and incomprehensible people fighting senseless wars, dying of poverty and aids – unable to speak for themselves.
It is a fact that, still today, many political forces continue to reduce Africa to security and migration issues, or to a territory for extractive investment opportunities.
We believe it is vital to get rid of any paternalistic view and listen to rising voices on the ground, echoing their demands and amplifying their perspectives to feed into the European political debates.
The recent European Union-African Union summit in Luanda (Angola) was a great step towards strengthening the relationship of the two regions.
However, the future of this partnership cannot be shaped exclusively in the corridors of institutions or traditional centres of power, ignoring the reality on the ground and the potential of its people.
Africa is the youngest continent, with over 12 million people about to enter the job market each year, and its population is projected to reach 2.5 billion by 2050. If we are interested in their raw materials, should we not be even more interested in joining forces with their human talent?
We are convinced that in a world of growing political tensions, it is more crucial than ever to keep the line open with those who get things moving.
This is why, for the past two days, the Socialists & Democrats have held their “Africa Days”, a space for dialogue and co-creation between politicians, civil society, youth leaders, women’s movements, trade unions from both regions, and members of the diaspora.
As a result of this event, we came up with a set of commitments that will not only drive our political and legislative work until the end of the mandate, but also aims to shape the Africa-Europe partnership for tomorrow.
A renewed partnership between equals
Last November, the president of the European Council, Antonio Costa, said: “War has returned to Europe and persists in several African countries. Disinformation and external interference are commonplace in our regions, global markets are experiencing unprecedented upheaval and global debt has reached unaffordable levels.”
Indeed, we share a common present and a common future.
In a world increasingly polarised and divided by nationalism, hard power and trade conflicts, we can no longer see Africa as a mere recipient of funds; but rather as a key player in the current global order, striving for our trust and engagement.
Any EU agreement with African countries must ensure that local communities participate and benefit from economic transformation, investment and the richness of their own natural resources.
In that sense, for instance, the adoption of the Clean Trade and Investment Partnership and the Memorandum of Understanding on a strategic partnership on sustainable minerals and metals value chains with South Africa, in November, showed the path to follow: a partnership of equals that creates stability in an uncertain world and prepares our economies and our people f