Antonio TAJANI, EP President arrives at the EU-Africa summit in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, and gives the opening speech.

TAJANI, Antonio (EPP, IT)

meeting

EU - Africa (T)

speech

Côte d'Ivoire

Antonio TAJANI, EP President at the EU-Africa summit in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire: extracts from the opening speech

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/19781443/I147249Chapters%5BSD-EN%5D.srt

SOUNDBITE (French), Antonio TAJANI, EP President, This meeting has come at a very important juncture. It rounds off a year of events focusing on Africa. The time has come to translate words into actions, and this summit needs to be the guarantor of that. This is what our citizens are asking us, both in Europe and in Africa.

SOUNDBITE (French), Antonio TAJANI, EP President, The European Parliament, as a directly elected institution, naturally attaches great importance to good relations between our two continents. We are tied by a common history, by our geography, by shared values and languages. We have to nurture this comparative advantage on a daily basis not to let it slip away. We do not only have common bonds, but also, and above all, common challenges and interests. Let us not forget that together we represent more than one third of the countries in the world. Together we can adopt common positions and achieve common goals in multilateral fora, such as the United Nations and the World Trade Organisation, as we did during the negotiations on the Paris climate agreement.

So today together we have to launch a message in favour of Peace, regarding what's happening in North Korea . Another nuclear missile has been launched. I think that The Africans and the Europeans together must send a peace message to the entire world. We have to make  known the strength of the peace and the strength of our continents.

SOUNDBITE (French), Antonio TAJANI, EP President, There is untapped potential in Africa. Genuine opportunities exist in a range of sectors &ndash; think of digitalisation, agriculture and rural development. But this also calls for high‑quality training and education &ndash; not least for future leaders and managers. University exchanges, legal migration and mobility must be used to drive development. We must facilitate university exchanges, support the financing of exchanges through Erasmus+ and expand young entrepreneur exchange programmes. This requires a joint effort from us, the European and African institutions, but also from the member countries &ndash; which means you.

SOUNDBITE (French), Antonio TAJANI, EP President, as regards the Sahel. This is a key region, and we must do everything we can to prevent it from collapsing and destabilising Africa as a whole, since this would create enormous risks for both our continents. The Sahel is a perfect example of why a holistic approach is needed, because business, trade and investment can only flourish and generate jobs and sustainable, inclusive growth in a climate of peace, security, stability, respect for human rights and good governance. This is why we must get engaged in Libya. We have to help Libya to solve out its problems, in friendship and with the support of international organisation. The task ahead of us is a huge one.