EU-AFRICA BUSINESS FORUM
The EU-Africa Business Forum (EABF, the “Forum”) took place on 7 June 2017 at the European Development Days (EDDs) in Brussels, Belgium. This year, this one-day event is part of a series of events being held across Africa and Europe on key topics, such as green energy and agri-business.
Outcomes from the event will include a business declaration to be presented at the Heads of State Summit scheduled to take place on 29-30 November 2017 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire and the design of a structured dialogue platform dubbed Sustainable Business for Africa (SB4A).
The event on 7 June featured plenary sessions in the morning, including an opening session and a high-level panel of discussions. The vice-presidents of the African Development Bank (AfDB) and of the European Investment Bank (EIB) were the guests of honor at the opening session.
The Forum line-up included an impressive panel of 3 participants, moderated by Chris Bishop, Managing Editor of Forbes Africa.
As high-level platform, this Forum provided a unique opportunity for African and European companies to network and exchange views on EU-Africa business and investment relations, engaging with political leaders from both continents in a concrete and constructive dialogue on how to use the Africa-EU partnership to meet today’s challenges.
The recommendations from the Forum will likely be presented by private sector representatives (e.g. BusinessEurope, BusinessAfrica or other business influencers) at the Africa-EU Summit of Heads of State and Government, to be held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire on 29-30 November 2017.
This offers opportunities for the private sector to meet political leaders from Europe and Africa and be part of a structured dialogue with policy makers, engaging in a concrete and constructive discussion where all parties involved hold each other accountable.
The EU-Africa Business Forum, as an integral part of the Joint Africa-EU Strategy (JAES), aims mainly at bringing the views of business to European and African leaders on critical issues pertaining to both continents’ relations. The Africa-EU Partnership states that the Forum will “play a key role in bringing together entrepreneurs and public and private investors from both Europe and Africa in order to discuss ways of improving the investment and business climate and to raise the profile of doing business in Africa.”
The Joint Africa-EU Strategy sets out both sides’ intention to move beyond a donor/recipient relationship towards long-term cooperation on jointly identified, mutual and complementary interests. It is based on principles of ownership, partnership and solidarity and its adoption marks a new phase in Africa-EU relations.
For more information visit the JAES website.
For further information visit the Delegation of the European Union to the African Union website.
