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EU Unveils €150bn Investment Plan For Africa

Published

4 years ago

February 10, 2022

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday unveiled plans to muster investment of more than 150 billion euros for Africa, proclaiming Europe to be the continent’s biggest and “most reliable” partner.

The scheme is the first regional plan of the European Union’s Global Gateway — an investment blueprint that seeks to mobilise up to 300 billion euros ($340 billion) for public and private infrastructure around the world by 2027.

Seen as a response to China’s Belt and Road initiative, the strategy will use funding from EU institutions and member countries to leverage private-sector investment.

The EU has set a target date of 2030 for the African funds under the plan, according to a document from the European Commission.

The money will go towards renewable energy, reducing the risk of natural disasters, internet access, transport, vaccine production and education in Africa, the document said.

Speaking at a press conference in the Senegalese capital Dakar, von der Leyen told reporters she was “proud” to announce plans for Africa, where the aim was to amass at least 150 billion euros in investment.

She did not offer details about how the funds would be raised or spent.

The EU’s website says money under the Global Gateway will be earmarked for “smart, lean and secure links” in communications and transport and for boosting health, education and research.

Von der Leyen, who is president of the powerful executive European Commission, arrived on Wednesday to prepare for a summit between the EU and the African Union on February 17-18.

“At the summit, investments will be at the heart of the discussions because they are the means of our shared ambition,” von der Leyen said.

“In this area Europe is the most reliable partner for Africa and by far the most important,” she added.

Global Gateway is rooted in “the values to which Europe and Africa are committed, such as transparency, sustainability, good governance and concern for the well-being of the people,” von der Leyen said.

Speaking to AFP before arriving in Senegal, von der Leyen warned that foreign investment in Africa too often came with “hidden costs” attached.

Critics often accuse other large investors in Africa, such as China or Russia, as being less stringent on environmental protection or human rights.

China in particular is accused of luring African countries into debt traps, offering huge unaffordable loans. Beijing disputes the charge, arguing that its loans are designed to alleviate poverty.

For his part, Senegalese President Macky Sall told reporters on Thursday that he expected the EU-AU summit to produce a “renewed, modernised and more action-oriented partnership.”

“Europe and Africa have an interest in working together”, he said, referencing the geographical proximity of the two continents and common security concerns, among other things.

Sall added that he was committed fighting global warming, but stressed the need to finance natural-gas projects in order to boost industry and provide greater access to electricity.

He has opposed plans announced by a small group of countries at last year’s COP26 climate summit, including the US and France, to end financing for overseas unabated fossil fuels — those without associated carbon capture technology — by the end of 2022.

The final declaration at COP26 also said countries would “accelerate efforts towards phase-out of unabated coal power and inefficient fossil fuel subsidies.”

Senegal, a poor nation of 17 million people, has high hopes for gas fields off its Atlantic coast.

The government has said it plans to start production by late next year or in 2024.

AFP

Headline

Putin Says Russia Ready For War, Blames Europe For Sabotaging Peace

Published

6 hours ago

December 2, 2025

Editor

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia was “ready” for war if Europe seeks one, accusing the continent’s leaders of trying to sabotage a deal on the Ukraine conflict before he met with US envoys.

The comments came as US envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner were in Moscow for high-stakes talks on ending the nearly four-year war, which were preceded by days of intense diplomacy.

“We are not planning to go to war with Europe, but if Europe wants to and starts, we are ready right now,” Putin told reporters in Moscow.

“They have no peaceful agenda, they are on the side of war,” he added, repeating his claim that European leaders were hindering US attempts to broker peace in Ukraine.

He added that European changes to Trump’s latest plan to end the war “aimed solely at one thing — to completely block the entire peace process and put forward demands that are absolutely unacceptable for Russia”.

Washington has presented a 28-point draft to end the conflict, later amended after criticism from Kyiv and Europe, which viewed it as heeding to many of Russia’s maximalist demands.

The plan to end the war is championed by Trump, but European countries fear it risks forcing Kyiv to cave in to Russian demands, notably on territory.

Fearing further Russian aggression, Europe has repeatedly said an unfair peace should not be imposed on Ukraine.

The Trump envoys are now seeking to finalise the plan with the approval of Moscow and Kyiv.
AFP

Headline

US Senator Proposes Bill To End Dual Citizenship

Published

6 hours ago

December 2, 2025

Editor

A United States lawmaker has introduced a bill seeking to abolish dual citizenship for American nationals, a move that could affect thousands of Nigerians who hold both US and Nigerian passports.

Bernie Moreno, a Colombian-born US senator, announced the proposed legislation — titled the Exclusive Citizenship Act of 2025 — arguing that the current system, which allows Americans to hold multiple nationalities, creates “conflicts of interest and divided loyalties.”

“One of the greatest honours of my life was when I became an American citizen at 18, the first opportunity I could do so.

“It was an honour to pledge an Oath of Allegiance to the United States of America and only to the United States of America! Being an American citizen is an honour and a privilege—and if you want to be an American, it’s all or nothing. It’s time to end dual citizenship for good,” Moreno said.

Moreno, who has since renounced his Colombian citizenship, maintains that exclusive allegiance is essential to national integrity.

If passed, the bill could have far-reaching implications for prominent figures such as US First Lady Melania Trump, who holds both US and Slovenian citizenship. It would also significantly impact Nigerians with dual citizenship.

According to a July naturalisation flow report by the US Department of Homeland Security, 38,890 Nigerians became naturalised American citizens between 2021 and 2023. Nigeria ranked 13th among countries with the highest number of new US citizens and was the only African nation in the top 20.

Nigerian law allows citizens by birth to hold dual nationality without relinquishing their Nigerian citizenship.

This development comes months after President Donald Trump issued an executive order aimed at denying automatic US citizenship to children of undocumented immigrants born in the country.

The order was immediately challenged by 18 states and multiple rights groups, who argued it violates the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of birthright citizenship. Ongoing legal battles have prevented the order from taking effect.

Headline

12 Die, 30 Missing In Peru Landslide

Published

1 day ago

December 1, 2025

Editor

At least 12 people, including three children, died in a landslide at a river port in central Peru on Monday, and 30 were reported missing, officials said.

The landslide submerged a boat with about 50 passengers on board, and another with none, as they were docked at the port of Iparia in the Amazon jungle region of Ucayali, according to a police report cited by the Andina news agency.

Six people were injured, it added, and a search and rescue operation was underway at the start of the Peruvian rainy season.

Without giving a toll, Peru’s COEN national emergency operations centre said on X that tragedy struck at dawn due to “erosion” of the bank of the Ucayali river.

It said the navy has been called in to help.

AFP