While the fight against climate change went out of the window in Baden Baden, Germany on Saturday 18 March in the final statement from the big G20 creditors, the finance ministers of the 20 richest countries in the world have their eyes fixed on investment in Africa – a continent hard-tested by the impact of global warming that is already at work.
They are determined to "deepen as well as broaden international economic and financial cooperation with African countries to foster sustainable and inclusive growth in line with the African Union's (AU) Agenda 2063", the final statement says.
Putting their words into action, the ministers launched the 'Compact with Africa' initiative aimed at "fostering private investment including in infrastructure".
This initiative "provides modules of good practices and instruments that could be applied in tailor-made investment compacts being implemented through the commitment of multiple stakeholders, such as individual African countries, international financial institutions and bilateral partners". The statement also says that this initiative will be guided by demand, and the respect of the specific circumstances and priorities of the different African countries.
The G20 finance ministers supported the intention of several countries (Ivory Coast, Morocco, Rwanda, Senegal and Tunisia), financial institutions (like the African Development Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank) and actors to start partnerships in order to cooperate in such compacts and support a climate favourable for investment. They "encourage the private sector to take advantage of the investment opportunities" and invite all interested partners to join the investment compacts.
With its €44 billion external investment plan (able to mobilise €88 billion in private investment) that is soon to be launched, the EU is also counting on investment in Africa to deploy "the economic potential of the continent in sectors like energy, agriculture, green economy, innovation" and to "untap the huge potential this continent has", High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini stated in Addis Ababa, the headquarters of the African Union, on Friday 17 March. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)