Germany wants to intensify its investment into Latin American and Caribbean infrastructure, notably via the EU investment initiative, Global Gateway, as a way to fight back against Chinese influence in the region, a new position paper of the German Development Ministry reads.
The announcement comes ahead of the third EU-CELAC summit, which will take place between 17-18 July and bring together EU member states and members of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) – as the EU continues to work towards ratification of the EU-Mercosur free trade agreement, for which progress has stalled.
“We’re well-advised to cultivate and intensify our existing relationship with Latin America, as the world order will become increasingly multipolar,” German Development Minister Svenja Schulze told reporters on Wednesday as she presented the paper in the presence of Brazilian Ambassador Roberto Jaguaribe.
This had been neglected in the past, she argued. “Other actors are very active with infrastructure projects in Latin America. We, as the European Union have not reacted to this for too long. It’s now important to make our own attractive offer,” Schulze said.
In recent years, China has become a major force in the region as it invests billions in infrastructure through its Belt and Road Initiative – a global infrastructure development project through which China hopes to increase its influence around the world. China is the largest trading partner of Mercosur states, particularly Brazil.
But Germany would offer support for “real, physical infrastructure”, said Schulze as she pointed to joint projects with the EU’s own infrastructure investment initiative, Global Gateway, which is seen as a rival to China’s.
Other areas of cooperation will include the green transition, peace, democracy and the fight against social inequality.
Schulze also praised the prospect of a trade deal, portraying her own efforts as complementary to the EU’s. “The Latin America policy of the development ministry is explicitly entrenched in a European multilaterally coordinated approach,” she promised.
(Nick Alipour | EURACTIV.de)
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