EU-African trade gets new opportunities

The Ukraine war will also lead to a reorganisation of supply chains in the mechanical and plant engineering sector, strengthening closer economic ties between Europe and Africa. VDMA, Europes’s most important Mechanical Engineering Industry Association has established training centres in Botswana, Nigeria and Kenya, where prospective skilled workers are trained on modern machinery and equipment as part of the initiative “Skilled Workers For Africa”. “After the Ukraine war, many companies from the mechanical and plant engineering sector will try to […]

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VDMA: Strengthen relations with Africa!

V Commenting on the sixth Summit between the EU and the African Union on 17 and 18 February 2022, Ulrich Ackermann, Head of the Foreign Trade Department at VDMA, says: “It is important that this Summit lays the foundation for a deeper and comprehensive partnership between the EU and the African Union, especially in the areas of trade, infrastructure and climate change. Africa is our neighbouring continent with more than 1.3 billion people, making it an important partner region. It […]

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Handbook on special economic zones in Africa

 Towards economic diversification across the continent Special economic zones are widespread across the developing world. Policymakers seek to develop special economic zones with the aim of attracting foreign direct investment, achieving higher experts and creating jobs. Indirect economic benefits range from upgrading of the local industrial base to being catalysts for innovation, knowledge and technological spillovers. Against a backdrop of growing global interest in zone-based development strategies, an increasing number of countries are adopting new special economic zone regimes […]

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African Development Bank highlights the need for strategic partnerships and innovative financing mechanisms…

… to promote quality education and skills development The African Development Bank joined the Global Partnership for Education and other multilateral development banks during the Global Education Summit: Financing GPE 2021-2025(link is external), to call for stronger strategic partnerships to build innovative financing mechanisms in support of quality education and skills development. The summit was co-hosted by the President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta, and U.K. Prime Minister, Boris Johnson. The Bank’s Vice President of Agriculture, Human and Social Development, Dr. […]

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EU – Talent Partnerships

TALENT PARTNERSHIPS – EU Commission launches new initiative to address EU skills shortages and improve migration cooperation with partner countries Today, the Commission is launching Talent Partnerships, a key initiative under the New Pact on Migration and Asylum that will help to address skills shortages in the European Union and to strengthen mutually-beneficial partnerships on migration with third countries. Matching the skills of workers from countries outside the EU with the labour market needs inside the EU, Talent Partnerships should […]

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