Schuldenreduzierung für Afrika – ein nachhaltiger Weg in die Zukunft

The EU Office of Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) cordially invites you to its online roundtable “Debt Reductions for Africa – the sustainable way forward” on 28 October 2020.

When the EU Commission’s communication ‘Towards a comprehensive Strategy with Africa’ came out in March 2020, several important topics were painfully missing in the document. Amongst them was the question of reducing debt for African countries, even though some have to forego important public services and welfare measures because of their debt burdens.

When the Covid-19 crisis started picking up pace all over the planet, a debt service relief package was approved by some of the world’s biggest lenders. Amongst them the G20, the IMF and the World Bank. However, so far, the relief package has the shape of a moratorium that was only prolonged from the beginning to the middle of 2021. Only a number of African countries are eligible for the moratorium. On top of that, private creditors have refused to participate in the measure.

In this discussion round, we would like to talk about the shortcomings of the current initiatives around African debt. We will hear the point of view of a Tirivangani Mutazu, Senior Policy Analyst at the African Forum and Network on Debt and Development on the African debt crisis and hope to further develop a desirable European political position on the issue.

Programme

13h00 Introduction and Welcome

• Daniela Iller, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, EU Office
• Miriam-Lena Horn, Trade Advisor to Joachim Schuster MEP

13h10 Opening Speech

• Joachim Schuster, MEP, Committee on International Trade

13h20 Inputs

• Elisabeth Bollrich, Coordinator “Dialogue on Globalisation”, Global Policy and Development Department, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
• Tirivangani Mutazu, Senior Policy Analyst, African Forum and Network on Debt and Development

13h35 Open Discussion
 

English-German interpretation will be provided. The event will be recorded. We kindly ask you to registerby 27 October 2020. The login details will be sent shortly before the event.

We look forward to your participation.