G20-Led Summit for Africa Highlights Renewed Interest in Fast-Growing Continent

Leaders from more than a dozen African countries are heading to Germany for the G20 Compact with Africa conference, which aims to help bolster private investment in the world's poorest, but fast-growing, continent. Underscoring renewed interest in Africa, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte will be among those attending the summit in Berlin, hosted by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, according to German government officials. Scholz, who has visited Africa several times since taking office in late 2021, will hold bilateral talks with several African countries on Sunday, before hosting a German-African investment summit at Berlin's Marriott Hotel on Monday morning. The Compact with Africa, which was created in 2017 under the German G20 presidency, aims to bring together reform-minded African countries, international organizations and bilateral partners to coordinate development agendas and discuss investment opportunities. German government officials say Africa can play a key role in helping Germany better diversify its supply chains, secure skilled labor, reduce illegal migration and achieve its green transition. Still, Chinese lending in Africa is in decline, while European interest is rising as it seeks to diversify supply chains. German trade with Africa was 60 billion euros last year, which is a fraction of its trade with Asia but up 21.7% on 2021.