Europe's pivot to Africa unveils a big Belt and Road-style initiative

WITH the eyes of much of the world currently on the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv, a little over 1,600 km westwards in Brussels there was a key summit last week between leaders of the EU and some 40 African nations.

Under the global radar, the EU launched its ambitious new economic "Global Gateway" project, widely seen as a counterpart to China's mammoth Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Europe has seen with some alarm how that nascent superpower Beijing has showered great interest on Africa with its top leadership (the president, premier and foreign minister) reportedly making a total of around 80 visits to over 40 different countries there over the past decade alone. China is aiming to better connect its BRI, increasingly, with African economic development. Trade between the two powers has risen from US$765 million four decades ago to around US$170 billion today, with Beijing also a frequent host of China-Africa summits.

While Brussels is not widely known for big, bold new initiatives, last week's announcement may yet prove an important exception. The Brussels-based club launched the first Global Gateway regional plan mobilising up to 300 billion euros (S$457.4 billion) for public and private infrastructure around the world by 2027. Half of this money is intended for Africa - focused on renewable energy, reducing the risk of natural disasters, digital connectivity, transport, vaccine production and education.