Luxembourg Minister for Cooperation and Humanitarian Action Romain Schneider was in Brussels this week for the 11th European Development Days organised by the European Commission whose theme this year was “investing in development”.
At the opening ceremony, a number of leading international figures took part, alongside European officials. Alpha Condé, President of the Republic of Guinea and President of the African Union, spoke about the relations between the European Union and the African continent and pointed out that the Europe-Africa Summit, scheduled for November 2017, Relations in a common interest. Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, called for promotion of the decisions of the major international conferences of the year 2015 and particularly mentioned the role of women and girls in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Several speakers also recalled the commitments made by COP21 on climate change and called for accelerating the implementation of these commitments.
The heads of state of EU partner countries, including Senegal, Rwanda, Malawi, Ghana and Bolivia, also took the floor.
The opening ceremony of the European Development Days provided an opportunity for the inter-institutional adoption of the new European Consensus on Development, which was signed by Antonio Tajani, President of the European Parliament, Joseph Muscat, Prime Minister of Malta, on behalf of The Council and the Member States, Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, and Ms Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. The consensus was co-signed by the President of the European Investment Bank, Werner Hoyer.
Minister Schneider participated in a panel on youth and the opportunities to be created for youth. He explained how Luxembourg Development Cooperation is committed to improving the quality of life, health and training of young people in its partner countries. He recalled the importance of special support for girls.
On the sidelines of the event, Romain Schneider met Honduras's Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Maria Dolores Agüero Lara and the Minister of the Economy, Planning and International Cooperation of the Central African Republic, Felix Moloua, to take stock of the bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
