German and French Africa policy in a multipolar world

On 5 December 2004, the seventh annual workshop on German and French cooperation with Africa took place in Berlin at the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) premises. The event was jointly organised by the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), and the Institut français des relations internationales (Ifri), bringing together approximately 60 participants.

Attendees included members of the German Bundestag and the French Assemblée Nationale and Senate, representatives from German ministries (Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and German Federal Foreign Office) and the French Foreign Ministry, as well as officials from Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the Agence française de développement (AFD). Additionally, representatives from German, French, and African think tanks and civil society contributed to the discussions.

The morning sessions featured two panels addressing shared challenges for German and French security policies in Africa and exploring the objectives, limitations, and approaches to cooperating with authoritarian regimes on the continent. In the afternoon, participants engaged in two workshops aiming at exploring new policy areas of potential Franco-German cooperation with regards to the African continent: one focused on political participation in African cities and the implications of the continent’s growing youth population, while the other examined German and French perspectives on African cooperation in the context of rising right-wing populism and political polarisation in Europe.

Participants agreed that relations between Europe and Africa are of particular importance for jointly tackling global challenges. Germany and France have an important role to play in shaping European-African relations. The discussions highlighted the diverse fields of action in which Franco-German cooperation towards Africa is possible.

From IDOS, Dr Julian Bergmann, Dr Benedikt Erforth, and Dr Lena Gutheil contributed as panellists and moderators. Dr Erforth and Dr Bergmann also serve as members of the trilateral organizing team that coordinates this event annually.