Even before the United States began to reduce its engagement in international development policy, global geopolitical shifts had become increasingly evident. In an increasingly multipolar world, African countries are diversifying their international partnerships. Simultaneously, their voices are gaining importance in multilateral forums, as demonstrated by the admission of the African Union to the G20.
Against this backdrop, many international players are stepping up their engagement on the African continent, including not only China and Russia, but also Turkey and the Gulf states. Qatar alone announced in August that it would invest around 100 billion euros in various projects on the continent with the help of private investors.
The new German government has also explicitly committed itself in its coalition agreement to an Africa policy that reflects the continent’s strategic importance, with a particular focus on promoting the private sector. To this end, it plans to align development cooperation more closely with foreign, security and economic policy in order to increase the coherence and effectiveness of German external action. At the same time, the draft federal budget for 2026 contains further cuts to the development cooperation budget, which in practice could make it more difficult to form stable, strategic partnerships with Africa.
How can an integrated and interest-driven approach to Africa policy be implemented through better cooperation between the Federal Foreign Office, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy? How will the planned cuts in development cooperation specifically affect the work of German actors in Africa? How can successful cooperation between business and development cooperation contribute to a strategic Africa policy? What expectations do African partners have of the German government’s new Africa policy?
These and other questions are the focus of the discussion to which Markus Koob, Member of the German Parliament, cordially invites you in cooperation with the German Africa Foundation and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.
Programme
Welcome Address:
Markus Koob MdB (CDU), Head of the Africa Working Group of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group
Dr. Peter Fischer-Bollin, Head of the Department of Analysis and Consulting of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation
Discussion:
Serap Güler, Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office
H.E. Stella Mokaya Orina, Ambassador of the Republic of Kenya
Dr. Volker Treier, Head of Foreign Trade and Member of the Executive Board, DIHK
Dr. Petra Warnecke, Head of Africa Division, GIZ
Conclusion:
Sabine Odhiambo, Secretary General, German Africa Foundation
Moderation:
Ingo Badoreck, Policy Advisor, Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa/Economy, Konrad Adenauer Foundation
Participation on invitation only. If you are interested, please contact Svenja Schindelwig at schindelwig@deutsche-afrika-stiftung.de.
