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Sustainable infrastructure development is of major importance for economic growth, social progress, and environmental sustainability in the Global South, in particular in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, many African nations face significant challenges in meeting their infrastructure requirements due to financial constraints, exacerbated by the current geopolitical environment, rising debt levels, and the lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The global infrastructure financing gap is estimated to be around USD 15 trillion by 2040.

Against this background, and in response to geopolitical challenges and China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the EU and the G7 have developed ambitious strategies for global infrastructure projects: the Global Gateway (GG) in 2021 and the Partnership for Global Investment and Infrastructure (PGII) in 2022. The projected funding amounts to EUR 300 billion and around EUR 570 billion (USD 600 billion), respectively (GG being part of the PGII). Aiming at promoting a green, smart development of global infrastructure in emerging economies and developing countries, both strategies focus on areas such as energy and climate security, transport, healthcare systems, and digital connectivity.

This public event, co-hosted by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) and the Center for Global Development (CGD), will bring together policymakers and researchers from the G7, Europe, and Africa to discuss the potential of the Global Gateway (GG) initiative and the Partnership for Global Investment and Infrastructure (PGII) in fulfilling Africa's needs for sustainable infrastructure.

In view of the ambition of GG and PGII, there are several key questions that will be discussed:

• How can the new strategies make a difference and fulfill the needs for sustainable infrastructure in Sub-Saharan Africa?
• What are the benefits of the GG and the PGII (as opposed to e.g. China’s Belt and Road Initiative) for Sub-Saharan Africa? What do the EU and the G7 need to do to be viable partners for countries in the Global South?
• With some previous infrastructure financing initiatives not living up to their expectations, how can GG and PGII actually deliver funding for projects and rebuild trust with African policymakers?
• To what extent do the EU and the G7 communicate and cooperate regarding the implementation of their strategies? How do the strategies differ? And how do the EU and the G7 ensure sufficient coordination between GG and PGII?
• Where does the funding of the GG and PGII come from? Is it “old” funding being repackaged?
• What must be considered to ensure that Least Developed Countries (LDCs) are not being left behind?

The panel will be live streamed on this website. If you would like to ask any questions during the event, please send an email to Katharina.Hopp@kas.de. The questions will be passed on to the moderator.

Please note that the event will be held in English without any interpretation.