Berlin Summit: African leaders seek German and European investments

(Patria) - Leaders from more than a dozen African countries are traveling to Berlin for the "G20 Compact with Africa" conference, which aims to help boost private investment in the world's poorest but fastest-growing continent, Reuters reported.

The summit will be attended by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, and hosted by Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Scholz, who has visited Africa several times since taking office at the end of 2021, will hold bilateral talks with several African countries on Sunday before hosting the German-African Investment Summit on Monday morning.

Europe and the United States are competing with Russia and China for geopolitical influence, critical minerals, and new economic opportunities on the world's second-most populous continent. This includes Africa's potential for renewable energy production, particularly green hydrogen, which could help its northern neighbor transition to a carbon-neutral economy. The continent's stability and prosperity are also considered key to reducing illegal migration. The Compact with Africa was established in 2017 under Germany's G20 presidency.

German government officials say Africa can play a key role in helping Germany diversify supply chains, secure skilled labor, reduce illegal migration, and achieve the green transition.

African countries have long complained that while Europe talks about investments, China provides financing without any moralizing. However, Chinese lending in Africa is declining, while European interest is growing as it seeks to diversify supply chains.

German trade with Africa last year amounted to 60 billion euros, only a fraction of its trade with Asia, but it increased by 21.7 percent compared to 2021.

The G20 Compact member countries are Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Senegal, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Burkina Faso, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Ethiopia.