Mutual dependence dominates EU-Africa agenda

As the dozens of leaders departed Brussels, the 2-3 April Fourth EU-Africa Summit, and Fifth Europe-Africa Business Forum (EABF) that preceded it, could be judged a success. It was by all accounts the biggest such event ever hosted in Brussels, despite the no-shows – who included South African President Jacob Zuma, Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe (whose sanctioned wife Grace was denied an invitation), Yoweri Museveni (expected to attend but avoided protest at Uganda’s anti-gay policies), Morocco’s King Mohammed VI, and Algeria’s Abdelaziz Bouteflika and Côte d’Ivoire’s Alassane Ouattara (both ailing).