Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz: “Mastering challenges through a close partnership”

Africa summit in December – Long‑term economic cooperation plans with African countries

“By the middle of this century the population in Africa is expected to have grown to 2 billion people, and towards the end of the century this number is expected to rise to as many as 4 billion. Therefore, closer cooperation with the African countries is an absolute necessity”,

said Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. This is not limited to the traditional help on the ground but has to go way beyond, “especially in the area of long‑term economic cooperation in future-oriented areas”, the chancellor added.  Early in December Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz plans to host, together with Rwandan president Paul Kagame, a summit in Vienna under the motto “Partnership among equals”.

At a European Council meeting at the end of June the heads of state or government also discussed EU‑Africa relations and endorsed a stronger partnership with African countries. The Vienna summit will gather high‑level representatives from politics and business to discuss, amongst other topics, innovation and digitalisation.

“The challenges can only be met through a partnership”, stated Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. The European Union therefore has to develop an improved, modern, fair and sustainable EU strategy for Africa. In particular, it must support economic development in order to create jobs and open up prospects on the African continent. “Given that Africa is a continent with a lot of potential, Austria will fully support the European strategy for Africa”, the Federal Chancellor emphasised.