People are quick to associate Africa with poverty, human rights violations, political instability and corruption. This, however, fails to recognise the human and economic potential of the continent. The fact that the African continent is three times as large as Europe and has 924 million inhabitants gives an idea of the importance of Africa in an ever-more interconnected world.

Reciprocal economic ties between Africa and Germany offer a win-win situation for both parties: Germany, as a country of knowledge and technological progress, relies on the natural resources of Africa. We assist African partners in the certification of raw materials in order to ensure fair trade. In this way, Africa benefits from the expertise of German companies. It is also ensured that commodities are fairly traded on the world market and less and less traded for arms today.

For a long time now I have been arranging regular meetings between African ambassadors and companies from my constituency. For example, the first “Africa meets Business” event was recently held. The massive interest in this meeting, attended by over forty African ambassadors and a large number of German government and business representatives, showed me that this partnership-based approach is the right one.

The future for economic cooperation involves Africa having access to the global market as an equal partner. Only in this way can African countries and their populations' living conditions develop in a sustainable way. Let us therefore work to get to know each other better and thus to better understand our respective interests.