Sánchez calls for strengthening Africa’s role in the UN system at the EU-AU Summit

Eduardo González The Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, advocated on Monday, during the European Union-African Union Summit in Angola, for strengthening Africa's role in the United Nations system, including the Security Council. Sánchez participated in the European Union-African Union Summit, a bi-regional meeting held every three years. This edition, held in Luanda, Angola, and entitled "Advancing Peace and Prosperity through Effective Multilateralism," was structured in four segments: the peace, security, and governance agenda; the shared prosperity and common interests agenda; mobility and people; and multilateralism. In his address to the plenary, President Sánchez affirmed that Europe and Africa can be the driving force behind a renewed, fairer, more inclusive, and representative multilateralism. He emphasized the need to defend the multilateral system by establishing three objectives: strengthening its legitimacy and the work of the United Nations as a key actor in global governance; ensuring that it responds to global challenges, particularly for the most vulnerable countries; and reinforcing Africa's role in the system, including the Security Council, of which three African countries currently hold non-permanent seats. Furthermore, Sánchez called for a paradigm shift in development finance and highlighted, in this regard, the concrete commitments reached at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development held in Seville, such as debt relief, resource mobilization, and greater participation of developing countries. Pedro Sánchez also stressed the need to strengthen the alliance between the European Union and the African Union and recalled the Spain-Africa Strategy 2025-2028, adopted in 2024 by the Government of Spain. Bilateral meetings During the summit, President Sánchez held bilateral meetings with the recently appointed President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Sidi Ould Tah, with whom he discussed increasing the mobilization of public and private capital for the continent's development; with the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, whom he congratulated on the successful outcome of the G20 Summit in Johannesburg; and with the President of Kenya, Williams Ruto, with whom he discussed the economic and trade relationship between the two countries and the importance of the EU-Kenya Agreement in attracting investment. Ukraine On the sidelines of the Summit, the Prime Minister participated in the meeting of European Union leaders, which addressed Sunday's meeting in Geneva between US and Ukrainian representatives to discuss the new version of US President Donald Trump's controversial 28-point peace plan to end the war. The meeting was attended in person by the President of the European Council, António Costa, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the Prime Ministers of Spain, Italy, Poland, Germany, Croatia, Montenegro, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ireland, and the Netherlands, who were present in Angola. The remaining leaders participated remotely. During the meeting, Sánchez stressed the need to reach an agreement "not for an ephemeral peace" but for a "just and lasting peace," one that includes respect for the "territorial integrity" of Ukraine. Separately, the Prime Minister spoke by phone with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, to express his support and convey that Spain and Europe support a peace that respects the sovereignty of the Ukrainian people, because only in this way will it be a truly just and lasting peace.

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