President Paul Biya and First Lady Chantal Biya arrived Brussels yesterday to participate in the 4th EU-Africa Summit.

Brussels will for the next two days be a veritable playing field for European and African collective interest. President Paul Biya and First Lady Chantal Biya arrived yesterday to participate in the 4th EU-Africa Summit beginning today. Shortly after the jet conveying the First Couple landed at Millbrook Air Force base in Brussels, officials of the EU and the State of Belgium accompanied by the Cameroon Ambassador in Brussels were on hand to welcome the august guests. President Paul Biya and First Lady Chantal BIYA later drove out of the airport in a convoy to Meridien Hotel which will be their official residence in Brussels. On arrival at the Presidential residence, hundreds of Cameroonians in the diaspora were on hand to give their First Couple a red carpet welcome. After Cairo (2000) Lisbon (2007) and Tripoli (2010), the 4th EU-Africa Summit will bring together African and EU leaders and heads of EU and African Union institutions.

The theme of the two days Summit is "investing in People, Prosperity and Peace". Discussions will centre on peace, security, investment, climate change and immigration. EU-Africa relations are largely based on the "Joint Africa-EU strategy, adopted in 2007. The action plan of 2011-2013 agreed at the last EU-Africa summit in 2010 specifies concrete targets within specific areas of cooperation such as peace and security, democratic governance and human rights. The Summit opening today will provide an opportunity to take a fresh look at the EU-Africa partnership, examine how far it has achieved set objectives and delve into new zones of possible future relations. The European Union is expected to be represented in this Summit by President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy and President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso. A range of high ranking international observers will also be associated to the meeting.

Increased Support

It is expected that the meeting will address the challenges that each of the two Continents face and the problems confronting the world at large. The theme chosen, according to President Van Rompuy, "addresses the everyday concerns of our citizens-their safety and security, their job prospects and their future as families and individuals". In his own analysis ahead of the Summit, the President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso insist that the "Summit will deepen our partnership of equals and seize further cooperation opportunities by expanding political, economic, investment and trade ties".

The three areas identified in its theme are crucial to the development of the two Continents. People are at the Centre of the EU-Africa partnership. Leaders of the two continents and their collective institutions are expected to discuss how to foster human capital through education and training including women and youth. How to provide skills and knowledge to better qualify for the labour market will be at the centre of discussions. Other issues such as mobility and fight against human trafficking may also be on the table.

Prosperity is another vital element in the theme of the Summit. Both Europe and Africa require sustainable and inclusive growth to their socio-economic growth and consolidate the recovery from economic and financial crisis. Discussions are expected to be centred on the creation of additional incentives for investment and the stimulation of growth that will create jobs for the youth in particular. The promotion of agriculture is expected to be encouraged. As a precondition for human development and the safety of people, peace remains a major preoccupation. Cooperation in this area between the two continents will be examined and enhanced. The main objective will be increased support by the EU for African capacities to manage security on the Continent.

Recommendations

Ahead of the summit, accompanying events are expected to involve a variety of European and African players in the debate and reflection on EU-Africa relations. The debates are expected to produce recommendations to be presented to Heads of State and Government during the summit. The 5th edition of the Africa-EU business forum brings together over five hundred participants including private sector representatives from across Europe and Africa.

The 3rd Africa-Europe youth summit that took place yesterday brought together close to seventy youth representatives from both continents to develop a common "Youth vision" and identify specific Youth initiatives to be implemented later. The third Pan Africa-European Parliamentary summit is another crucial accompanying event. As was the case in Lisbon and Tripoli, the two Continental Parliaments met to prepare and convey the Parliamentary input to summit discussions. Twenty three members from each Parliament constitute the forum to discuss the most pressing topics of EU-Africa relations as well as ways to improve the implementation of the Joint Africa-EU strategy. All the accompanying events are taking place before the summit proper begins later today.