Africa's Development, Trade, Finance

(1) The UN General Assembly resolution 68/237 proclaimed 2015 - 2024 A Decade Dedicated to People of African Descent: Recognition, Justice and Development. (2) The Africa-EU Partnership is based on shared values and aims at promoting common interests and achieving shared strategic objectives. The Joint Africa-EU Strategy, which was adopted at the Lisbon Summit in 2007, constitutes the overarching long-term framework for Africa-EU relations. It is implemented through jointly identified priorities, which are of common interest to both the EU and Africa and significantly impact on the daily lives of citizens on both continents. (3) On April 22–23, 2005, Asian and African countries renewed their longstanding solidarity at the 2005 Asian African Summit in Jakarta. The 2005 Asian African Summit yielded, inter-alia, the Declaration on the New Asian African Strategic Partnership (NAASP), the Joint Ministerial Statement on the New Asian African Strategic Partnership Plan of Action, and the Joint Asian African Leaders’ Statement on Tsunami, Earthquake and other Natural Disaster. The aforementioned declaration of NAASP is a manifestation of intra-regional bridge-building forming a new strategic partnership commitment between Asia and Africa, standing on three pillars, i.e. political solidarity, economic cooperation, and socio-cultural relations, within which governments, regional/sub-regional organizations, as well as peoples of Asian and African nations interact. The 2005 Asian African Summit was attended by 106 countries, comprising 54 Asian countries and 52 African countries . The Summit concluded a follow-up mechanism for institutionalization process in the form of Summit concurrent with Business Summit every four years, Ministerial Meeting every two years, and Sectoral Ministerial as well as Technical Meeting if deemed necessary. (4) Washington, D.C., August 4-6, 2014 President Obama pledged $33 billion in U.S. private and public assistance to Africa, Obama told the leaders of 50 African nations that some of their governments must bolster the rule of law, reform government regulations and root out corruption to promote economic development.  Obama discussed pledges of more than $14 billion by various American businesses for help with projects involving clean energy, aviation, banking and construction. Coca-Cola will help provide clean water, General Electric will assist with infrastructure development, and Marriott will build more hotels, Obama said. The United States is determined to be a partner in Africa's success We don't look to Africa simply for its natural resources; we recognize Africa for its greatest resource, which is its people and its talents and their potential. The president discussed a total of $33 billion in public and private commitments, including $7 billion in new financing to promote U.S. exports and investments in Africa and $12 billion in help from the president's Power Africa initiative involving private-sector partners, the World Bank and the government of Sweden. (5) The ACP-EU partnership agreement: The "Partnership Agreement between the members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States of the one part and the European Community and its Member States of the other part" was signed on 23 June 2000 in Cotonou, Bénin – hence the name " ACP-EC Partnership Agreement" or "Cotonou Agreement". It was concluded for a twenty-year period from March 2000 to February 2020, and entered into force in April 2003. It was for the first time revised in June 2005, with the revision entering into force on 1 July 2008. A second revision of the Agreement was agreed on 11th March 2010. (6) German development policy is formulated by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and implemented by organisations such as KfW and GIZ. Germany takes international agreements as well as the commitments it has entered into very seriously. Therefore, in consultation with its African partners and other donors, it is focusing increasingly on certain cooperation priorities.