Euronews Debates | The South Africa perspective: Can the EU & Africa reboot their relationship?

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As the 6th EU-Africa Summit approaches, few are questioning the need for a fundamental reset of relations – in particular after the turbulent events of the past few years.

But what precisely does that entail? The path ahead is by no means clear, when long-standing challenges in Africa such as food security and migration are compounded by today’s immediate global concerns of health and climate change.

Euronews has assembled a panel of experts to discuss exactly what needs to happen before a genuinely new era of Africa-EU relations can begin, moderated by Euronews' Chris Burns.

You can watch the event live in this article on February 17.

President Emmanuel Macron of France, who is hosting the summit, has emphasised his belief that to move forward, there needs to be a complete overhaul of the partnership between Africa and Europe.

Recently, he spoke of the desire to “establish a genuine system of peace and prosperity to build investments in African economies and build [a] shared future,” with the aim of “reforging an economic and financial New Deal with Africa.” He acknowledged that relations between the continents were “tired’.

When looking at South Africa’s post-COVID-19 strategy, one might say that the country can weigh the balance among the other African member states who will be present at the summit.

Despite the severe disruption, President Ramaphosa is seeking to rebuild the capacity of the state, for example via Operation Vulindlela and modernising network industries, including electricity, water, transport, digital communications, and more infrastructures.

South Africa wishes to be an investment-friendly environment and has piqued interest with global investors through increasing engagement and