Motorcades swept along Luanda's neon-lit waterfront at dusk, past idle cargo cranes and half-finished glass towers, before veering uphill toward the Salo Protocolar da Presidncia - the angular concrete pavilion perched above the bay that hosted the seventh African Union-European Union Summit. Inside, beneath banners urging "effective multilateralism", dozens of leaders converged to revive one of Africa's most strategically significant partnerships.
The Summit delivered more than a routine communiqu. Europe backed African value-addition in critical minerals for the first time, recognised the blue economy as a strategic sector, and committed to building regional green-industrial hubs.
Together, the announcements mark a notable shift in Europe's approach, from extractive trade patterns to co-investment and industrial partnership.