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Keynote: Dr. Gerd Müller, Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany
DAY ONE: Keynote Address
H.E. Dr. Gerd Müller
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Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany
GERMANY’S MARSHALL PLAN WITH AFRICA
Africa is the continent of the future. Africa is dynamic: it is home to six of the world’s 11 quickest-growing economies. Africa is rich: it has 89 per cent of the world’s copper, cobalt, rare earth reserves. Africa is about opportunities: the new free trade zone creates a huge market of 1.2 billion people.
The other side of the coin is the fact that hunger affects almost 30 per cent of the people in Sub-Saharan Africa. The continent needs 20 million jobs per year – the impact of COVID-19 has only made the challenges greater. That is why I launched the Marshall Plan with Africa – with, not for Africa. The plan is built on three pillars: economic activity, trade and employment; peace and security; and democracy and the rule of law. We have started a paradigm shift with the Marshall Plan, building reform partnerships with countries that are especially reform oriented, to jointly work on improving the environment for investment.
During Germany’s EU presidency we want to take the Marshall Plan to the next level by promoting the idea of a new EU-Africa partnership. We will also need to integrate the lessons learned from the COVID-19 crisis in future action so as to make the next decade a Decade of Delivery.
