Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio has left Freetown on Wednesday to attend the 6th EU-Africa Summit in Brussels, Belgium.
The summit, which is scheduled for Thursday 17 February and Friday 18 February, has been described as a crucial gathering of African leaders and their European counterparts, coming four years after the last summit and at a time the world battles the protracted Covid-19 pandemic.
The EU-Africa Summit provides a platform for EU and African leaders to discuss bilateral relations, in the context of the Joint Africa and European Union Strategy (JAES), the blueprint of the EU-Africa partnership.
Launched at the 2007 EU-Africa Summit in Lisbon, Portugal,
JAES is a strategy that specifically seeks to encourage political leaders on both sides to nourish a people-centred partnership.
The Summit was first held in 2000 in Kairo, Egypt. The last edition was in 2017 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, where the leaders of the two continents adopted a joint declaration outlining common priorities for the EU-Africa partnership in four strategic areas: economic opportunities for youth; peace and security; mobility and migration; and cooperation on governance.
The organizers say this summit presents a unique opportunity to lay the foundations for a renewed and deeper partnership with the highest political involvement and based on trust and a clear understanding of mutual interests.
Among other issues, the leaders are expected to discuss how both continents can build greater prosperity. There is also a plan to launch an ambitious Africa-Europe Investment Package, taking into account global challenges such as climate change and the current health crisis.
A series of thematic roundtables are planned on areas including growth financing, health systems and vaccine production, agriculture and sustainable development.
The Brussels summit is expected to end with the adoption of a joint declaration on a joint vision for 2030.
A statement from presidential press secretary says Bio is expected to hold several bilateral meetings on the margins of the Summit, and that he is scheduled to return to Freetown on Saturday 19 February.
