The Foreign Ministers of the EU Member States held a brief exchange of views on Monday 10 December in Brussels regarding cooperation between the European Union and the African Union (AU) in preparation for the first Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of the two twin institutions, scheduled for 21 and 22 January.
This inaugural meeting will also be the first since the AU/EU Summit in Abidjan (April 2017) and will be held following the Africa-EU High Level Forum convened in Vienna on 18 December, which is dedicated to the Africa-Europe Alliance for Sustainable Investment and Employment.
The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, emphasised that the ministerial meeting in Brussels will be an opportunity to reaffirm the political will of both sides, to strengthen their strategic partnership, and to identify how to build ownership on both sides in order to deliver concrete results.
To this end, the High Representative stressed that the focus should be on job quality, an inclusive society, environmental sustainability and technology transfer.
Three priorities have been identified for the ministerial meeting: - a political priority: peace, security and governance, including human rights and conflict prevention; - an economic priority: investment, trade and skills; - increased cooperation in international fora to address global challenges, such as climate change, and to promote multilateralism. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)