Our contribution to the public consultations on the “Cornerstones of a Marshall Plan with Africa”

Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development published the “Cornerstones of a Marshall Plan with Africa” on its website in January 2017 and invited for comments from the private sector, academia, civil society and citizens by 26 February 2017. The ChinaAfricaAdvisory provided the following inputs:

1. Include trilateral cooperation with China

• The Marshall Plan with Africa should reflect the EU’s new focus on trilateral cooperation with China in African countries as highlighted in the EU’s new China strategy and recent a speech by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy;
• Germany should pioneer the EU’s trilateral cooperation with China in African countries building on BMZ’s and GIZ’s vast experience in the development and implementation of trilateral cooperation projects.

2. Reflect priorities of African countries

• The Marshall Plan with Africa should not only build on the African Union’s Agenda 2063, but more concretely on national development plans, in particular those of the African countries singled out in the draft;
• The Marshall Plan with Africa should communicate clearly how African countries have been involved in its development.

3. Define concrete incentives for Germany’s private sector