EU: The European Commission is proposing to spend €5.6 billion to help fund key infrastructure, such as roads and telecoms networks, in Africa.
The strategy, which was unveiled yesterday by development commissioner Louis Michel, will support regional development in four priority areas: transport, energy, water, and information technology and telecommunications.
The EU executive's plan, which needs to be sanctioned by all 25 member states, will seek to overcome a situation in Africa where 42 per cent of people still have no access to safe water and fewer than one in five people have access to electricity.
The strategy is presented as an EU-Africa partnership and the funds would be made available from the 10th European Development Fund between 2008-2013. "Connecting Africa is essential for its economic growth, trade, regional integration and fight against poverty," Mr Michel said.
The proposal named eight trans-African roads which the EU could help improve, including the 4,500km Dakar-N'Djamena highway, which runs through seven countries.