TRADE FINANCE TALKS
6.3
Patience will pay off in Europe-Africa trade relations
JEFF FALLON
Head of Client Coverage BACB
Momentum behind updating the framework for EuropeAfrica cooperation may have slowed as nations tackle the Coronavirus outbreak, but the pause will only be temporary. Jeff Fallon, Head of Client Coverage at British Arab Commercial Bank (BACB), argues that deeper AfricaEurope integration will be challenging in the new environment, but specialist banking partners are on hand to help 2020 was set to be a pivotal year for Europe-Africa trade. In March, the EU published its “Comprehensive Strategy with
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Africa” which laid out a forwardlooking roadmap to further deepen the inter-continental relationship in areas such as green growth, energy access and digitalisation. But a few months down the line, and regions have had to divert their efforts almost exclusively onto mitigating the impacts of the Coronavirus outbreak. While controlling the social effects of virus remains the priority, Africa now must manage the economic ramifications of the pandemic. In practice, this means keeping trade flowing as much as possible with key trading partners. The continent’s largest, in this respect, is the EU: in 2019, the EU-27 represented 31% of Africa’s exports, mostly comprising of primary goods such as energy, raw materials and food products. Similarly, 29% of Africa’s imports – largely manufactured goods – are from Europe.
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