European Union (EU) has stressed its commitment to strengthening its partnership with African countries, including Malawi based on mutually agreed rules of engagement to boost trade and investment between the two continents.
This came to light during a briefing for 14 journalists from southern Africa who were on a week-long tour of EU headquarters and its establishments in Brussels, Belgium organised by the EU’s European External Action Service.
Olof Gill, EU Commission spokesperson for economic security, trade, financial services, UK relations and customs, said there were more ways of engagement besides the trade agreements.
He said the EU strives to bring Europe and Africa closer by strengthening economic cooperation and promoting sustainable development with both continents co-existing in peace, security, democracy, prosperity, solidarity and human rights.
Gill said the EU takes its partnership with Africa as a key priority; hence, its standing engagements at continental level through the African Union and at individual country level and via its delegations on political and policy dialogues.
He said: “The EU is a stable partner for Africa because it always strives to create a win-win framework and plays by the rules as agreed between parties.
“The EU gains through market access and sourcing raw materials while African States also get access to the EU market and human resource capacity development through the various programmes EU supports.”
Commenting on Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs)—trade and development agreements negotiated between the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries and regions, Gill said six countries in the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) that signed the EPA agreements have registered increased earnings from their trade by up to 50 percent. He said the same applied to foreign direct investment pegged at 120 billion euro.
The six Sadc countries with EPAs are Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Eswatini (formerly Swaziland). The Sadc EPA became the first regional EPA on the continent to be fully operational after Mozambique started applying it in February 2018.
On the other hand, Malawi, alongside the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Mauritius, Zambia and Zimbabwe are negotiating EPAs through other regional groups classified as eastern and southern Africa (ESA).
An EU Commission official said Malawi was active in both Sadc and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa), as such, was negotiating its EPA through the other platform while Zambia ratified the EPA in 2009, but did not sign.
EU is the EPA group’s largest trading partner with South Africa accounting for the largest part of EU imports and exports from the region. Key exports from the region to the EU include diamonds, agricultural produce, including beef and fish as well as sugar, fruits and manufactured goods and wines.
On its part, the EU exports vehicles, machinery, electrical equipment, pharmaceuticals and processed foods.
During the briefing, Gill also stressed on EU’s investment in energy and said partnerships were key to achieving the desirable goals.
His sentiments come barely a month after the EU unveiled a 500 million euro (about K929 billion) energy package for Malawi to finance the 361 megawatts (MW) Mpatamanga hydro-power plant and Malawi-Mozambique Interconnector, among key electricity projects.
The news also came weeks after the EU confirmed at the M300 Africa Energy Summit in Tanzania in January a comprehensive plan to support the strengthening of Malawi’s energy sector in the years to come.
Speaking when he unveiled the package during a media briefing in Lilongwe, EU Ambassador Rune Skinnebach said it is aligned with the EU Global Gateway strategy, and aims to boost inclusive and sustainable economic growth for jobs creation.
Malawi currently has installed capacity of 441.9MW with 390.55 from hydro sources.
