This archive report was first published on 16 July 2020.
On July 16, 2020, President Uhuru Kenyatta called for the crafting of a joint European Union and Africa Covid-19 response strategy during a virtual conference of European and African leaders.
The proposed strategy should include the cancellation of debts owed by African countries, among other interventions, to help mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic.
President Kenyatta spoke at State House, Nairobi, during the virtual conference, which was championed by Former President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker.
The Africa-Mediterranean-Europe (AME) Foundation, a proposed platform to enhance development discourse and interactions between Africa, the Mediterranean, and Europe, was also discussed during the conference.
President Kenyatta supported the proposal to establish the AME Foundation, saying it will help inject new ideas needed to scale up collaboration between the three regions.
He emphasized that the foundation should be structured to be a robust platform for the promotion of multilateralism and inclusivity, and should recognize the critical role of the private sector, academia, and civil society.
President Kenyatta also endorsed the proposal to include the setting up of the EMA Foundation as an agenda during the next AU-EU summit scheduled for October 2020.
Other African leaders, including Presidents Macky Sall (Senegal), Issoufou Mahamadou (Niger), Mohamed Ould Ghazouni (Mauritania), and Roch Kabore (Burkina Faso), also attended the virtual meeting and expressed their support for the establishment of the EMA Foundation.
