EU-AU Summit can create a new era of progress and prosperity

February 15, 2022

- The sixth summit would be first in the last two years and both EU and AU would be looking for a new era of economic cooperation.
- The two-day summit would be a landmark event where intensified economic relationship is expected to be created.

On February 17^th and 18^th, the worlds largest economic unions; the European Union and African Union come together and will have a summit level negotiation to improve the economic and trade relation between these two economies. It has been widely reported that this summit would transform the relationship between two continents from a Donor- recipient relationship to a more phenomenal association of equals. This is first time after the pandemic hot world economy sees a summit level talks between heads of states of European Union and African Union in Brussels.

Africa is turning out to be a growing economy and the Chinese strong presence in the continent has promoted many EU nations to think of an expanded co operation with African countries. The summit would be taking this into account and there will be greater economic momentum. The long-awaited sixth summit between the European Union (EU) and African Union (AU) is expected to reshape the contours of trade and economic relationship and focus would be given to create a win – win situation by creating a wider liberal trading arrangements between these two unions. The economic relationship between the two regions are posing a lopsided picture where, the EU provide financial assistance to African countries where Africa offers cheap raw materials to EU.European countries have imported cheap raw materials from Africa and exported to our continent high-value manufactured products, resulting in trade imbalances and perpetual economic underdevelopment in Africa.

Ever since the first summit happened way back in 2001 in Cairo, there has been a significant growth in mutual trade and investment relationship. That summit led to the adoption of the Cairo Declaration, which was meant to reconfigure the relationship between Europe and Africa in order to foster a spirit of equality, cooperation, and respect between the two continents.