- Paris Summit
AEF Agenda: The Summit for a New Global Financing Pact
- The Africa-Europe Foundation
The Summit for a New Global Financing Pact is set to take place in Paris on 22-23 June against the backdrop of increasingly stressed economies juggling persistent challenges, from global health issues to climate change, while being undermined by outdated global systems. The Summit aims to address this issue by taking stock of the financial tools available to break inefficient cycles and facilitate better access to funding in climate and development.
The Africa-Europe Foundation (AEF) has identified the reform of global governance and financial systems as a priority to reinvigorate multilateralism and inject trust into the Africa-Europe partnership. Discussions on necessary and viable reforms to multilateral development banks and innovative financing schemes have taken center stage at recent AEF-led events: from the Ibrahim Governance Weekend in Nairobi in April 2023 to a cross-continental expert meeting on Paris Summit expectations in May 2023, co-organized with the OECD Development Centre and the African Climate Foundation.
Program at a glance
The June Summit is an important milestone to translate dialogue into action at the global stage, and the Africa-Europe Foundation will be engaged through its network and on the ground as co-organisers of official side events to deliver its priority messages: from meeting and surpassing existing commitments on the reallocation of Special Drawing Rights to exploring innovative financing schemes.
1. Climate and its Impact on Health: A new impetus for philanthropy
Wednesday, 21 June, 09:30-17:30 CEST
In-person at La Maison Sanofi, Paris (affiliated event of the Paris Summit)
This closed-door session led by the OECD’s netFWD Health Working Group will discuss how philanthropic organisations are working at the intersection between climate and health and how to rethink current approaches to accelerate collective efforts.
2. Africa’s Just Energy Future: Why We Need a Roadmap to Rapidly Unlock Investment
Thursday 22 June, 11.45-12.45 CEST
In-person at Palais Brongniart, room #4, Paris (official side event)
This dialogue, by the Africa-Europe Earthshot multi-stakeholder group, will be centred around strategies to scale up investment in clean energy, nature and industrialization in Africa, to empower communities and contribute to a just energy future.
3. Forging a New Deal for the Climate & Health Emergency – Breaking Silos to Enhance Community Adaptation
Thursday, 22 June, 13:30-14:15 CEST
In-person at Palais Brongniart, room #2, Paris (official side event)
This dialogue, in partnership with Fondation S and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will address the impact climate change has had on global health and the need for blended finance to support climate resilience and adaptation at the community level.
Next steps
In the weeks following the Summit, the Africa-Europe Foundation will hold additional strategic discussions to dissect key areas of Africa-Europe cooperation identified as complementary to the reform of global governance and finance systems.
#AUEUTracker Special Dialogue: Combatting Illicit Financial Flows
Wednesday, 5 July, 16:00-17:30 CEST
Online, register here
Illicit financial flows currently put an US$ 80 billion sized dent on Africa’s yearly domestic resource mobilisation, which could have been earmarked for local development or debt service repayments. This high-level dialogue will bring experts across Africa and Europe together to identify actions for cooperation to stem flows.
Africa-Europe-Asia Dinner: Catalyzing a green reform of the international financial system
Thursday, 6 July, 19:30 CEST
In-person at the Stanhope Hotel, Brussels (by invitation only)
This closed-door dinner debate is strategically scheduled as a follow-up to the Summit on a New Global Financing Pact, as an opportunity to take stock of outcomes and drive forward priorities in the reshaping of multilateral financial systems in preparation for the Africa Climate Summit and COP28.
AEF at the multilateral stage
AEF will continue to engage with its climate-development work-streams and partners to drive the agenda on the access to sustainable finance within the global reform agenda in several multilateral platforms, including the Africa Climate Summit, taking place in Nairobi, Kenya in September; the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA78) in New York, USA in September; and COP28 hosted by Dubai, UAE in November / December.