Foreign Minister Mikser: Africa is an important strategic partner for the EU

At the today’s EU Foreign Affairs Council, Foreign Ministers discussed mainly EU-Africa relations and the humanitarian catastrophe in Syria. Also, the external dimension of migration was discussed.

Talking about EU-Africa relations, the EU Foreign Ministers acknowledged that despite the problems with security and the rule of law, Africa is an important strategic partner for the EU, with EU-Africa Summit taking place in autumn 2017. According to Foreign Minister Sven Mikser, the situation in Africa affects the whole of Europe, so it is important to use every opportunity for cooperation. “Youth will be the theme of the next Africa-EU Summit taking place during the Estonian EU Presidency, as change comes from youth,” Foreign Minister Sven Mikser said. “In addition to education and employment issues, it is important to turn attention to cooperation in innovation and development of the ICT sector as young people are more open to new technologies,” Mikser noted. Promoting the ICT sector helps to fight against corruption and provides better quality of services while supporting Africa’s own involvement and ownership. According to Estonian Foreign Minister, Estonia has supported a number of African countries in introducing e-solutions and is ready to share its experiences in the future. An annual e-governance conference organised in Tallinn in 2017 focuses on Africa.

Leaders of the EU Foreign Policy discussed the crisis in Syria and ways to alleviate the humanitarian situation in Aleppo, emphasising the need to stop the violence and find a lasting political solution. “The priority right now is to protect civilians and grant humanitarian access, but it is also time to think on which conditions the EU can participate in the post-conflict reconstruction,” Sven Mikser said. The EU Foreign Ministers condemned the activities of the Syrian regime and its allies and attacks on civilians and humanitarian workers.

Talking about the external dimension of migration, the discussion focused on partnerships with third countries. Foreign Minister Sven Mikser emphasised the need to implement all decisions adopted so far and insisted on the importance of solving the root causes of migration - implementing the EU partnership framework and country-based migration partnerships in collaboration with the African countries which have to take responsibility for and ownership of the use of the aid provided for them.


Photos of the meeting: https://tvnewsroom.consilium.europa.eu/event/foreign-affairs-council-december-2016-5834699012171/3510th-foreign-affairs-council--12-12-16#/gallery/7


Additional information:
Marika Post
Spokesperson of the Permanent Representation of Estonia to the EU
+32 474 98 16 57