On Tuesday 26 October 2022, the Secretary General for Foreign Affairs, Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal, attended the second meeting of Ministers of the European Union (EU) and the African Union (AU) in Kigali.
Africa and Europe are closely intertwined. We must strengthen our partnership on equal terms, in order to address the many challenges currently facing our continents. The African Union is an important player in this transcontinental partnership. Ongoing constructive cooperation on every level is invaluable, in order to fully exploit future potentials for the benefit of everyone concerned,
commented Secretary-General Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal.
Austria’s priorities in Africa include the strengthening of stability and security, and the containment of irregular migration. Targeted economic and social investments will create prospects for people in their countries of origin. Another major interest of Austria is to strengthen Africa’s resilience against climate crises, famine, and current and future pandemics.
In the fight against COVID-19, we urgently need fast, comprehensive immunisation, also in Africa. We need to invest in people, sustainable processes, and robust infrastructure. The pandemic is offering us the chance to rebuild in a “better and greener” way,
continued Mr Launsky-Tieffenthal.
One of Austria’s initiatives in this regard has been to provide one million euros to the Africa Centre for Disease Control, to buy personal protective equipment (PPE) and train healthcare personnel. Austria has also provided funding of five million euros to the international COVAX AMC programme, aimed at supporting a total of 92 countries, many of them in Africa, by providing donor-funded vaccine doses.
During the EU-AU meeting, Secretary General Launsky-Tieffenthal also held bilateral discussions with government officials of EU Member States and the AU, including representatives from Ghana, Mozambique and South Africa.
