On 20 May 2020 ACCORD, in partnership with the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) and the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), hosted a closed virtual roundtable discussion on how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the future of the relationship between Africa-Europe partnership.
The roundtable forms part of a collaborative project by ACCORD, ECFR and NUPI to stimulate and enrich dialogue in Africa and Europe on the underlying geo-political, COVID-19, peace and security and other key developments and dynamics that will influence the strategic relationship between Africa and Europe. This round table was the first of five roundtables to be held.
The panel included Marianne Hagen, State Secretary, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Faten Aggad, Senior Advisor to the AU High Representative on EU-AU negotiations; Vasu Gounden, Executive Director, ACCORD; Gunilla Carlsson, former Deputy Executive Director, UNAIDS and former Minister for International Development Cooperation of Sweden; Prof. Ulf Sverdrup, Director, NUPI; and Mark Leonard, Director, ECFR. The panel was moderated by Dr. Cedric de Coning, ACCORD & NUPI and Susi Dennison, ECFR. The round table was opened by the Norwegian State Secretary, Marianne Hagen, with discussions divided into three areas: An African perspective; An European perspective and a Geo-political perspective.
