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"It is not the impossible which gives cause for
despair,
but the failure to achieve the possible" |
| Louis Michel |
The success of the first edition of the European Development Days is a source of satisfaction
and pride for Africans and Europeans. The forum was an opportunity to bring Euro-African
dialogue up to date. It is proof that we were willing to turn the page on our troubled past so
we can go forward towards a more constructive and balanced relationship founded on respect, proof
that we had the will to break with our disheartening habit of pessimism. Images of an active, evolving
Africa are still alive today. The words of Reverend Desmond Tutu, demonstrating that Africa is an
unwitting giant, will resound long and loud in our hearts and in our consciences. At the conclusion,
each of us understood that to assure the success of a better future for the African people, the road to
be followed must be defined and envisaged in Africa.
The first edition of the European Development Days was also a success for us Europeans.
It
demonstrated our capacity to unite, to listen to our partners and to learn how to successfully
implement, with them, a destiny that belongs above all to Africans themselves. It confirmed the role
of Europe, not solely as primary sponsor of development aid, but also as a leader in international
thinking on co-operation. Finally, this event gave us the opportunity to strengthen public awareness of
the issues at stake in development and to feed the spirit of European Consensus with a view to
effective aid.
I would also like to thank all those who took part in the first EU-Africa business forum. This event
brought together distinguished professionals from Africa and Europe to discuss the public policy
issues that condition the economic environment on the African continent. More specifically, it was the
chance to exchange good practices and successful experiences in terms of business in Africa, thereby
boosting the image of an African continent as a source of prosperity and human development.
From now on, all the actors of the development community in Europe will be invited every year to an
exchange of ideas on the major problems of international co-operation. It is in this spirit that I am
delighted to discuss the theme and the geographical focusing of the next edition, which will take place
in Lisbon in 2007. In particular, in the light of President Barroso’s suggestion, I hope that the success
of the first edition of the European Development Days will contribute to the success of the next
EU-Africa Summit.
It is also my intention that the ideas and suggestions exchanged during the forum will enrich our daily
work, especially the semi-annual programme of aid to development, the Euro-African partnership
and our recently redefined and broadened approach to governance. The legacy of the European
Development Days must be transmitted, shared and defended.
The brilliant success of that first great gathering of ideas is set, without doubt, to become an event of
global dimension, capable of tracing the lines of force of a modern political process that is free for ever
of paternalistic, mistrustful and self-interested reactions that have probably prevented the fulfilment
of even the finest of promises.
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