CAPE TOWN, South Africa
The European Union will invest $5 billion (€4.7 billion) in South African aid and development projects, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen announced Thursday.
The majority of the
investments will go to supporting the transition to clean energy, such as
improving wind, solar and hydrogen power production.
The funds will also be put
into vaccine manufacturing.
"South Africa wants to
protect the health of [its] people… We Europeans want to diversify some of our
most critical supply chains. This is what I call a true mutual interest,"
von der Leyen said.
The announcement came at the
first bilateral summit between the bloc and South Africa, the continent's
most advanced economy, in seven years.
The summit in Cape Town was
called to strengthen ties between the bloc and South Africa, the EU's largest
sub-Saharan trading partner.
South African President Cyril
Ramaphosa said the meeting came at a time of increasing "global
uncertainty ... characterized by rising unilateralism, economic
nationalism," a reference to the impact of US President Donald Trump's
policies.
The United
States' decision to ax
nearly all aid to South Africa has sparked concerns about
funding gaps in critical areas, such as HIV/AIDS
treatment.
"What is going on in the
world is even going to strengthen our resolve to remain partners in order to
tackle the many challenges that are arising," Ramaphosa told
reporters.
"Some countries are
interested in just extracting materials from the ground and exporting profits
elsewhere. That is not our model," von der Leyen said at the summit.
"We want to support local
jobs, local added value, and high environmental and labor standards."
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