HAShen the geopolitics and the geoeconomy of the world are being upset by the evolution of an international situation which seems to open a new era, what view should we take of the relationship between Africa, France and Europe? What initiatives should be taken to meet the challenges of a future that many are wondering about? Martine Vassal, president of the metropolis of Aix-Marseille-Provence and also president of the departmental council of Bouches-du-Rhône, confided in Point Afrique.
The Africa Point: After Emerging Valley and Emerging Mediterranean, Marseille hosted, one month after the European Union-African Union summit held in Brussels, the Europe-Africa forum around the theme “European and African metropolises, actors in global recovery “. How does this commitment of the Marseille city in the Europe-Mediterranean-Africa dialogue seem timely and relevant to you at this troubled moment that the world is experiencing with the crisis in Ukraine?
Martine Vassal: While our worlds live under the threat of uncertainties or humanitarian and security dramas, current events show us that it is more than ever our duty to continue to build, to weave links between our peoples, our cultures and our continents. . This troubled context reminds us how much this truth must be a priority that is renewed each time. I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity given to me by hosting the first edition of the Europe-Africa forum, to reaffirm the importance of the challenges of co-construction in the stability of the world, to underline the imperative need to cooperate , to develop partnerships, in order to guarantee lasting peace. It is indisputable that Africa, in all its diversity, is and will be one of the world’s engines of growth. It has demonstrated this, among other things, thanks to a young population, a spirit of innovation and an incredible mobilization to produce innovative solutions! It has established itself as a commercial player that counts and has the means to finance its development. I want to believe, when rebuilding the relationship between our two regions of the world, that we, Aix-Marseille-Provence, can be a source of inspiration because of the good practices that we have developed to strengthen this complementarity.
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Some are calling for the establishment of a new paradigm for a refoundation that brings hope and shared innovation between Europe, the Mediterranean and Africa. What are the stones already laid by Marseille in this direction and how does the Aix-Marseille-Provence metropolis now plan to nurture this ambition?
A recognized digital and logistics hub, the territory of the Aix-Marseille-Provence metropolis is a real welcoming land for companies involved in the Africa-Europe relationship, thanks to world-class infrastructures (1er French port to Africa, 1er regional air hub to Africa, submarine cables, etc.), our exceptional geostrategic position, our historical, economic and cultural ties, our dynamic ecosystem turned towards the Mediterranean… All these assets give our territory a unique role as a union. Five thousand talented Africans, students, entrepreneurs, executives, are trained or supported each year at our university, the world’s leading French-speaking higher education center. The Marseille campus of the French Development Agency (AFD) has thus supported more than 15,000 executives in Marseille in fifteen years, and Aix-Marseille-University trains more than 3,000 African students each year. The Aix-Marseille-Provence metropolis is home to a fabric of companies strongly involved in the relationship with Africa, with large emblematic companies, such as CMA CGM, Olympique de Marseille, Compagnie fruitière, but also with an exemplary community of entrepreneurs of the Africalink network. Our metropolis concentrates 20% of African investments in France, like the establishment of Ingenio, a Congolese company specializing in telecoms, the HPS group of Moroccan origin, one of the world leaders in electronic banking, or even the Lifi-Led start-up, founded by an engineer from Côte d’Ivoire. These examples are proof, if any, of the strong partnership potential that it is up to all of us, Europeans and Africans, to bring to fruition, given the great challenges!
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As much in the construction of the cities of tomorrow as in a practical and adapted approach to digital technology, the Aix-Marseille-Provence metropolis has positioned itself as a space and laboratory for reflection between Europe and Africa. How do you see Marseille’s offer as a bridge and as a leading player in the co-construction between these two spaces in the years to come?
By identifying the African continent as a priority economic destination for the metropolis, we have clearly measured the scale of the challenge to be taken up and the responsibility, which is ours, as Euromed-Africa capital, in the construction new alliances. The issues at stake, both in terms of peace and education, training, exchanges of knowledge and health, are considerable. At the head of the Aix-Marseille-Provence metropolis and the departmental council of Bouches-du-Rhône, I have endeavored to do so, by encouraging African companies to internationalize, by encouraging our local companies to exchange and invest , by federating through “Provence Africa Connect” all the energies to grow together, like what we are doing with Emerging Valley, this major meeting place for African and European tech. If the metropolises are, today, players in economic recovery and transitions, it is up to future generations to bring a new Euro-African alliance to life. It is up to us now to help them develop their skills, to encourage them to create and innovate. Whole !
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