Ministers from the EU and AU Member States Expected to Reinvigorate Longstanding Partnership for the Benefit of both Continents

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Date

May 21, 2025

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The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Member States of the European Union (EU) and the African Union (AU) will meet on 21st May in their 3rd Ministerial Meeting, where they will take stock of progress on the Joint Vision for 2030 for a renewed Partnership, that was adopted at the 6th EU-AU Summit in 2022. The meeting paves the way for the 7th AU-EU Summit, which will take place in Africa, in 2025, marking 25 years of the partnership.

The 3rd AU-EU Ministerial Meeting marks a critical moment to evaluate and reinvigorate the partnership between the two continents, which is aligned to both the AU’s Agenda2063 development framework, and the EU’s priorities.

With Africa recently joining the G20 and the recent occurrences in the global multilateral system, this Ministerial also offers a unique opportunity to move from high-level commitments to implementation.

In their meeting, the ministers will discuss the progress achieved over the past 25 years, and their shared interests for the good of the people of both continents. They are also expected to appreciate the strong relations between Europe and Africa.

The AU-EU partnership, grounded in Agenda 2063 and the 2022 summit, centers around four key pillars:
1. A prosperous and sustainable agenda for Africa and Europe
2. Renewed and enhanced cooperation on peace, security and governance
3. Enhanced and reciprocal partnership for Migration and mobility
4. A stronger commitment to Multilateralism

Three events on the programme of the AU-EU ministerial meeting will be streamed live on the African Union website. These are the official opening ceremony at 07:00; the press conference at 11:35 and the closing ceremony at 14:45. All times are in GMT.
To watch, go to:
https://vimeo.com/showcase/11716700

Ahead of the AU EU ministerial meeting, African and European senior officials met on 20th May in Brussels to consider the documents of the ministers, including the draft Programme of the 3rd EU-AU Ministerial Meeting, and the Draft Joint Communiqué.

Follow the conversation at #AUEU25

For further information, contact:
Mrs Wynne Musabayana| Head of Communication | African Union Commission | email: MusabayanaW@africa-union.org

Press Release

44796-pr-AU_EU_Ministerial_pressa._docx.pdf

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Department Tags

Agenda 2063

Flagship Projects

Integrated High Speed Train Network

Connecting African capitals and commercial centers through a High-Speed Train Network; facilitating the movement of goods, factor services and people as well as reducing transport costs and relieving congestion of current and future systems through increased rail connectivity.

African Commodities Strategy

Transforming Africa from a raw materials supplier by enabling countries to add value, extract higher rents from commodities, integrate into global value chains promote diversification anchored in value addition and local content development.

African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)

Accelerating intra-African trade and boosting Africa’s trading position in the global market by strengthening Africa’s common voice and policy space in global trade negotiations.

The African Passport & Free Movement of People

Removing restrictions on Africans’ ability to travel, work and live within their own continent by transforming restrictive laws and promoting visa free travel to enhance movement of all African citizens in all African countries.

Silencing the Guns by 2020

Ending all wars, civil conflicts, gender-based violence, violent conflicts and preventing genocide in the continent by 2020.

The Grand Inga Dam Project

Generating an estimated 43,200MW of power to support current regional power pools and their combined service to transform Africa from traditional to modern sources of energy and ensure access to clean and affordable electricity.

Single African Air-Transport Market

Promoting intra-regional connectivity between the capital cities of Africa by creating a single unified air transport market in Africa, as an impetus to the continent’s economic integration and growth agenda.

African Economic Forum

Multi-stakeholder meeting bringing together the Africa’s policy makers, private sector, academia and civil society to reflect on accelerating Africa’s socio- economic development and transformation by harnessing its vast resources.

African Financial Institutions

Accelerating integration and economic development through the establishment of organisations which will play a pivotal role in the mobilization of resources and management of the African financial sector.

The Pan African e-Network

Transforming Africa into an e-Society by implementing policies and strategies that lead to transformative e-applications and services in Africa such as broad band terrestrial infrastructure, cyber security and revolutionary bio and nanotechnology industries.

Africa Outer Space Strategy

Strengthening Africa’s use of outer space to bolster development in critical sectors such as agriculture, disaster management, remote sensing, climate forecast, banking and finance, defense and security.

African Virtual & e-University

Using ICT based programmes to increase access to tertiary and continuing education in Africa by reaching large numbers of students and professionals in multiple sites simultaneously.

Cyber Security

Incorporating emerging technologies in Africa’s development plans and ensuring these technologies are used for the benefit of African individuals, institutions and nation states by ensuring data protection and safety online.

Great African Museum

Preserving and promoting African cultural heritage by creating awareness of Africa’s vast, dynamic and diverse cultural artefacts and Africa’s continuing influence on world cultures in art, music, language, science, and so on.

Encyclopaedia Africana

Provide an authoritative resource on the authentic history of Africa and African life.

NOW

Images

References

Agenda 2063

Key Resources