Uganda: Statement by the High Representative Josep Borrell on the promulgation of the Anti-Homosexuality bill
The European Union regrets the signing into law of the Anti-Homosexuality Act by the Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. The law introduces severe punishments, including the death penalty to which the EU is opposed in all circumstances.
This law is contrary to international human rights law and to Uganda’s obligations under the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, including commitments on dignity and non-discrimination, and the prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment.
The Ugandan government has an obligation to protect all of its citizens and uphold their basic rights. Failure to do so will undermine relationships with international partners.
The European Union will continue to engage with the Ugandan authorities and civil society to ensure that all individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation and gender identity, are treated equally, with dignity and respect.
Sudan: Statement by the Spokesperson on the African Union Communiqué of 27 May
Norway, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the European Union [the Troika plus EU] welcome the African Union (AU) Communiqué of 27 May following the Heads of State and Government Peace & Security Council meeting on Sudan.
We agree with the AU’s condemnation of the actions of the two warring parties and the suffering they have caused the people of Sudan.
The Troika plus EU reaffirms its support for African leadership and the AU’s Roadmap for the Resolution of the Conflict in Sudan, and welcomes the AU’s work to establish an Expanded Mechanism and its Core Group to ensure inclusive and coordinated regional and international action to secure a viable peace process, and the resumption of the transition to civilian government and democracy in Sudan.
The Horn of Africa: a geo-strategic priority for the EU
At last Monday’s Foreign Affairs Council, we discussed the situation in the Horn of Africa. This region, which is crucial to EU’s interests, is characterized by a huge untapped potential, but it has been affected during the last decade by many crises that threaten its stability and development.
At our Council of EU Foreign Ministers, we discussed again extensively Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. However, this war is unfortunately not the only conflict that threatens to destabilise the rules-based world order. And even if the war against our neighbour Ukraine is naturally very important to us, we need to keep a close eye on the problems in the rest of the world, better understand them and continue to engage globally in helping resolve other crises.
The stability of the Horn of Africa is crucial.
This is particularly true for the Horn of Africa, which has been rocked by major crises over the recent years. The stability of this region in the East of the African continent is of course crucial for the 300 million of people living there, but it is also central for EU’s interests, in particular because more than 20% of EU exports and imports pass off its coast. As geopolitical competition intensifies, other players, like the Gulf countries, China or Russia, focus increasingly on the region. A strong and structured European engagement with the countries of the Horn of Africa is imperative to preserve our interests.
Africa Investment Forum showcases $1.475 billion in green and renewable energy deals at African Development Bank 2023 Annual Meetings
The Africa Investment Forum presented four renewable energy and sustainability projects worth nearly $1.5 billion to investors on the sidelines of the African Development Bank Group’s 2023 Annual Meetings.
The curated projects, which are drawn from all of Africa’s regions, are sourced from the Africa Investment Forum’s pipeline. They reflect gathering urgency in Africa, the world’s most vulnerable region to climate change, to accelerate climate action, including closing financing gaps by securing an ever-increasing share of global capital for the continent.
The African Development Bank’s 2023 Annual Meetings are being held under the theme, Mobilizing Private Sector Financing for Climate and Green Growth in Africa.
The investment roundtable, held in Sharm El Sheikh, attracted a range of private investors, including venture capital and private equity firms.
African Development Bank Group, JICA sign $350 million loan agreement to support Africa’s private sector
The African Development Bank and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) today signed a JPY 44,100,000,000 ($350 million) loan to finance the Bank’s support for private sector operations in Africa.
The loan comes under the Enhanced Private Sector Assistance (EPSA) initiative, which is a component of Japan’s Official Development Assistance to Africa. The fifth version of EPSA, for an amount of $4 billion, was signed by the Bank and JICA at the Eighth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 8), held in Tunis last August.
Democratic Republic of Congo: EU allocates over €32 million in additional humanitarian funding
The humanitarian situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to deteriorate, especially in the east of the country. As a result, the EU is allocating an additional €32.7 million, to support the humanitarian crisis response in the country.
The new funding comes in addition to the €45.7 million announced earlier this year and brings the total funding for the DRC to almost €80 million for 2023. This funding will be channelled through humanitarian organisations to cover immediate needs such as nutrition, healthcare, water and sanitation, shelter and protection.
African Development Fund, Smart Africa Alliance launch $1.5 million project to enhance digital trade and e-commerce ecosystems across Africa
The African Development Fund and Smart Africa Alliance have jointly launched a $1.5 million project to streamline digital trade and e-commerce policies across 10 African countries.
The Institutional Support for Digital Payments and e-Commerce Policies for Cross-Border Trade Project (IDECT) will evaluate policy gaps in the digital trade and e-commerce ecosystems of Côte d'Ivoire, Benin, Ghana, Liberia, Uganda, South Sudan, Zimbabwe, the Republic of Congo, São Tomé and Príncipe, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Greater Horn of Africa: EU allocates €331 million in humanitarian aid
The Greater Horn of Africa region is facing multiple and overlapping humanitarian crises with more than 50 million people in urgent need of food assistance. To help, the Commission will provide some €331 million in humanitarian aid primarily targeting food insecurity as well as addressing the needs of displaced persons and refugees, disaster preparedness, and education in emergencies.
Global Gateway: Team Europe invests in transformative green mobility in Nairobi
Today, President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and Kenyan President William Ruto, met in Brussels to discuss how to strengthen the partnership between the EU and Kenya and opportunities to drive the green and digital transitions in Kenya under Global Gateway. As a concrete deliverable, on the sidelines of the meeting, Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen and Cabinet Secretary for Transport Cooperation Mr Kipchumba Murkomen signed a declaration of intention to finance the electric bus line “Nairobi Core Bus Rapid Transit Line 3” (BRT 3) for a total amount of €347.6 million, including €45 million in grants from the EU budget. By supporting the implementation of a safe, clean, high quality and efficient public transport system in Nairobi, Team Europe is the key partner in Kenya's green transition.
Nigeria formally joins UN Water Convention
10 countries from Africa, Middle East and Latin America commit to join key water-sharing treaty, as UN sets membership target for half of all countries by 2030.
In what could constitute a major long-term outcome of the summit, governments are seizing the UN Water Convention to support practical cooperation measures – urgently needed as 153 states worldwide share water resources – as a precondition to tackle the global water crisis.