May 30 , 2025
The 3rd African Union (AU) and European Union (EU) Ministerial Meeting convened on Wednesday (May 21), in Brussels, Belgium. The meeting was co-chaired by Tete António, Foreign Minister of Angola and Chairperson of the Executive Council of the African Union, and Kaja Kallas, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Union. The meeting was attended by Foreign Ministers from the two regions, higher officials of the African Union and the European Union, senior officials and Civil Society Organizations. Ethiopia was represented by a delegation led by Foreign Minister, Gedion Timothewos, at Ministerial segment.
This significant gathering was preceded by a Senior Officials meeting held on Tuesday (May 20) in Brussels. The Senior Officials convened in a preparatory session and deliberated on the outcome documents of the Ministerial Session.
The Ministerial meeting deliberated on pressing global issues surrounding prosperity, peace and security, migration, and multilateralism, among others. The meeting welcomed the milestones achieved in the implementation of the Joint Vision 2030, an initiative stemming from the 6th AU-EU Summit held in 2022 in Brussels. This vision serves as a framework to enhance collaboration between Africa and Europe by promoting sustainable development, security, and stability. The Ministers agreed to take stock of the progress achieved over the past couple of years before the convening of the 7th AU-EU Summit set to be held in 2025 in Africa.
Minister Gedion, who addressed the gathering on the thematic area of prosperity emphasized the need to strengthen the partnership between the two continents for tangible outcomes. He stressed the need to upscale Public-Private investment within the framework of the Global Gateway Initiative in the areas of energy, agriculture, infrastructure, digitalization and other flagship projects essential for realizing the full potential of Africa.
The discussions held at this meeting underscored the importance of multilateralism in a world increasingly intertwined yet facing numerous challenges. The Ministers deliberated on the importance of embracing the spirit of collaboration and shared responsibility that reinforce the partnership.
The issue of migration was also discussed during the Ministerial Session, which underlined the importance of addressing the root causes of migration, while encouraging regular two-way movement of the flow of citizens of the two continents based on international law.
The Ministerial meeting concluded by issuing a Joint communique, reaffirming the commitment of the two Unions to foster partnership, strengthen multilateralism and upscale mutually beneficial investments.
The meeting provided a timely platform to renew commitments towards a comprehensive partnership that addresses core issues affecting both regions. This partnership holds the promise to foster greater understanding and cooperation between the two continents.