Today, on the eve of the Global Gateway Forum taking place in Brussels on 25 and 26 October, European Commission President Von der Leyen and the Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani have launched a new Team Europe Initiative, as part of the EU’s positive Global Gateway offer, to support investment in the energy transition and decarbonisation of Mauritania’s economy, by developing its green hydrogen industries.
At the launch of this Team Europe Initiative, President Von der Leyen said: “With its sun and wind, Mauritania has a vast renewable energy potential. The EU fully shares its ambition to develop as a hub for green hydrogen. Global Gateway provides the frame for partnerships in strategic sectors like green energy. This is how Team Europe will contribute to the green transition of Mauritania, creating at the same time new opportunities for its people and businesses.”
The Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani added: “The large-scale development of green hydrogen can be an accelerator of green economic growth in Africa and Europe. It deserves to be at the heart of the global Gateway initiative”.
The Team Europe initiative
The new Team Europe initiative backed by the European Commission, France, Germany, Spain and the European Investment Bank as Team Europe aims to:
– Support the development of infrastructures needed in Mauritania to allow the green energy to be produced, transported, and commercialised.
– Foster decent/job creation, particularly for youth, support private sector and strengthen the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
– Contribute to skills development through technical and vocational training, to provide the skilled labour required by the hydrogen industry and the sub-sectors associated with its development.
– Consolidate the legal and fiscal framework, improve the business climate to create a favourable investment environment for the development of hydrogen exploitation.
This new Team Europe Initiative will mobilise significant additional investments, that will be further concretised in the coming months.
Complementing this initiative, the EU has also signed new cooperation actions in 2023, including:
- €13,7 million to promote sustainable food systems and access to quality and affordable food by strengthening value chains and economic operators.
- A €10 million to promote the Blue economy in Mauritania, in particular eco-friendly fishing systems and strengthen fisheries value chain. It will also co-finance the construction of maritime infrastructures and maximise synergies with the EU-Mauritania Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement.
Background
The EU and Mauritania share many common interests, ranging from the green transition to regional stability and orderly migration. The current EU cooperation with Mauritania has three objectives: human development, transition to a green and blue economy and governance (to advance public finance and administrative reforms), backed by €578 million from the EU between 2021-2024
In Mauritania, Global Gateway is already making significant investments in the green and blue economy, as well as in digitalisation, by supporting the transformation of the national electricity industry towards international standards, the development of small-scale fishing to improve value chains and preserve fish stocks, and connectivity and data management with a second internet cable and a data centre.
The Global Gateway Forum brings together for the first time an assembly of government representatives from the European Union and across the globe, alongside key stakeholders from the private sector, civil society, thought leaders, financial institutions, and international organisations to promote global investment in transformative infrastructure – hard and soft- to deliver on SDGs and sustainable growth and resilience worldwide.
Global Gateway is the EU’s positive offer to reduce the worldwide investment gap and boost smart, clean and secure connections in digital, energy and transport sectors, and to strengthen health, education and research systems.
The Global Gateway strategy embodies a Team Europe approach that brings together the European Union, EU Member States, and European development finance institutions. Together, it aims to mobilize up to €300 billion in public and private investments from 2021 to 2027, creating essential links rather than dependencies, and closing the global investment gap.
With its sun and wind, Mauritania has a vast renewable energy potential. The EU fully shares its ambition to develop as a hub for green hydrogen. Global Gateway provides the frame for partnerships in strategic sectors like green energy. This is how Team Europe will contribute to the green transition of Mauritania, creating at the same time new opportunities for its people and businesses.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission
The large-scale development of green hydrogen can be an accelerator of green economic growth in Africa and Europe. It deserves to be at the heart of the global Gateway initiative.
Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, Mauritanian President
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