The United Arab Emirates has reinforced its partnerships with African nations, highlighting deepening investment, clean energy commitments, and expanded strategic cooperation at the 39th African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The UAE’s participation at the AU Summit reflects its leadership’s commitment to consolidating relations with African countries through partnerships built on trust, mutual respect, and shared aspirations for peace and sustainable development.
“Our engagement with Africa is rooted in decades of trade, maritime links, and people-to-people connections across the Red Sea and Indian Ocean corridors. Today, that historic connectivity is reflected in a growing diplomatic footprint (19 embassies in Sub-Saharan Africa) with further expansion underway. At the same time, African diplomatic representation in the UAE continues to grow, reinforcing our country’s role as a hub for African trade, finance, and dialogue,” stated the UAE’s Minister of State, His Excellency Sheikh Shakhbout bin Nahyan Al Nahyan.
During the summit, Minister SHakhbout, together with African government leaders and senior officials, discussed the continent’s priorities and reaffirmed the Emirati’s support for the AU’s Agenda 2063. The pledges made strengthened cooperation in trade and investment, renewable energy, food security, digital transformation, and capacity building for the continent.
Between 2019 and 2023, the UAE committed more than $110 billion in investments across Africa, the highest by any single country during that period, with over $70 billion directed toward energy and renewable sectors. Under the Africa Green Investment Initiative, $4.5 billion has been mobilised for clean energy development spanning solar, wind, geothermal, battery storage, and green hydrogen. Masdar’s $10 billion Africa programme and the Etihad 7 initiative aim to expand electricity access to up to 100 million people by 2035.
On trade, the UAE has concluded nine Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements with African nations covering tariffs, services, digital trade, and investment protection, designed to complement the African Continental Free Trade Area. Infrastructure investment is equally significant. DP World is undertaking a $1 billion upgrade of Dar es Salaam Port in Tanzania, while AD Ports has broken ground on a new terminal in Luanda, Angola.
Over the past decade, nearly 40 per cent of the UAE’s total foreign assistance, approximately $20.9 billion, has been directed to African countries. Looking ahead, the UAE and Senegal will co-host the 2026 UN Water Conference in December, the first time two Global South nations have jointly led the global process, underscoring a shared commitment to water security across the continent.
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Author: Lebina Lebina from Global Advisors on behalf of MOFA.
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