Mozambique: EU-Africa summit can reaffirm cooperation between the two – analysts

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

Mozambique: EU-Africa summit can reaffirm cooperation between the two – analysts

7:46 CAT | 15 Feb 2022

Image: Lusa

Mozambican analysts consider that growing “reservations” about relations with China are an opportunity for Africa and the European Union (EU) to reaffirm the strategic and vital nature of their cooperation at the summit between the two blocs.

“I think that the EU and Africa should use the upcoming summit to reaffirm that they need each other, obviously for different reasons, but strategic and at the same time vital,” Muhamad Yassine, a lecturer in International Relations at Joaquim Chissano University, a state institution, told Lusa.

Yassine argued that the trap in which China has put many African nations, through unsustainable loans, and the perception of plundering natural resources, offers the EU the possibility of reaffirming a cooperation based on democratic values and sustainable development with Africa.

“Although I think that the EU will care little about the defence of human rights and democratic values at the current juncture, it can present an alternative in the face of the African people’s mistrust and reservations about the kindness of Chinese cooperation,” he said.

For Muhamad Yassine, Africa’s strategic position is unavoidable for Europe because it is an important partner in the fight against terrorism and extremism and to stem migratory flows.

“Terrorism is increasingly a concern of the entire African continent and it is of interest to the EU to curb it”.

Muhamad Yassine also pointed to the importance that Africa is beginning to give to the issue of decarbonisation as an aspect that can be capitalised by the EU in closer cooperation and reduction of China’s influence on the continent.

“Doubts about the future of coal, which is much in demand by China, which also imports this raw material from Africa, also constitute an area for closer ties with the EU,” he said.

The academic pointed to the EU’s praise of Mozambique for the way it has managed the impacts of climate change as an example of the growing emphasis given to climate issues in cooperation.

Fernando Lima, journalist and chairman of Mediacoop, the first private media group in Mozambique, also considered vital for Europe to cooperate with Africa, aiming to solve issues such as illegal migration, violent extremism and climate change.

“The sustainable development of Africa interests the EU, because abject poverty in Africa is upstream of the drama of suffocating migrations that the EU is facing,” he stressed.

On the other hand, less incisive action in cooperation with the African continent by Europe could allow the consolidation of China’s weight on the continent and the growth of the influence of new actors.

“The EU cannot give up the values it places on the table of cooperation with Africa, namely the issue of human rights and democracy, but it will have to be creative and pragmatic,” he said.

In addition, halting the growth of violent extremism in Africa, through support for sustainable and inclusive development, should also be a priority in cooperation with the EU, because historically, wars on the African continent result in a “negative balance for Europe”.

In the Mozambican case, the EU is taking on the role of training troops for combat in the north of the country, in Cabo Delgado, a region affected by an armed insurgency for over four years.

The EU-Africa summit will take place between Thursday and Saturday in Brussels.

Source: Lusa