Top diplomats from two continents agreed to strengthen their work together, recognizing a need for more research and innovation in key areas like digital access, health security, and sustainable agriculture.
Fifty foreign ministers from more than 70 delegations from the African Union and European Union, which include 82 nations and 1.9 billion people between them, released a joint communiqué on Wednesday that pointed to the billion-euros A.U.-E.U. Innovation Agenda launched in July 2023 as impetus for researchers and innovators "to continue driving their scientific discoveries and innovative solutions for the benefit of sustainable economies and societies."
The meeting marked a first assessment of the Innovation Agenda, showing some signs of deepening ties between the two blocs around science, technology and innovation. Ministers urged the creation of "regional innovation ecosystems," including artificial intelligence strategies and digital governance frameworks, plus safe, secure and trustworthy AI development and research partnerships. They agreed to work on "human-centric artificial intelligence" that respects human rights, particularly in the workplace, and a single market for data in Africa.
"Nearly €150 billion in investment has been committed under the E.U.'s Global Gateway strategy to enhance infrastructure, digital connectivity and green transitions all across Africa," said Kaja Kallas, E.U. foreign policy chief and former leader of Estonia.
"The will to do more is strong," she told reporters. "Key priorities emerging from our discussions include commitment to greater collaboration in critical raw materials, artificial intelligence, regional integration and also mobility. These areas will shape the engagement in the lead up to the European Union-African Union summit later this year."
The meeting in Brussels, overseen by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, was held in preparation for the 7th E.U.-A.U. Summit to be hosted by Botswana in October. It reviewed progress and obstacles on the intercontinental "Joint Vision" for 2030 partnership, meant to bolster green and digital transitions, public finance management, migration and mobility, and multilateralism.
A.U. and E.U. foreign ministers had not met since Feb. 2022, just days before Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the first major war in Europe since World War II, and upended the global security landscape.
Foreign ministers said they support "a just, comprehensive, and lasting peace" in Congo, Gaza, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, and other major wars and conflicts around the globe.
They pledged to take real action despite "shifting global dynamics, rising geopolitical tensions and geo-economic competition, instability and fragmentation, heightened conflict, deepening inequality, as well as the impact of demography and migration and the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution on our continents."
The A.U.-E.U. Innovation Agenda is a policy agreement that grew from high-level talks about how to generate a two-way knowledge exchange in four priority areas – public health, green transition, innovation and technology, and capacities for science – and cross-cutting issues.
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