Global Gateway: the EU’s strategy to build a better connected world at the heart of the European Development Days 2022

The leading global forum on development cooperation, the European Development Days (EDD), will start tomorrow. This year’s edition will focus on Global Gateway, the EU’s strategy to invest in smart, clean and secure infrastructure in digital, energy and transport sectors, and strengthen health, education and research systems across the world, which tackle inequalities and put the Sustainable Development Goals back on track. European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, will address the opening ceremony on 21 June. She will be joined by European Council President Charles Michel; European Investment Bank President Werner Hoyer; and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development President Odile Renaud-Basso. They will speak alongside Queen Mathilde of Belgium, UN SDG Advocate; HM King Lettie III of Lesotho; Nana Akufo-Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana and Chairman of ECOWAS; Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania; José Maria Neves, President of the Republic of Cabo Verde; Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, Prime Minister of the Republic of Namibia; John Briceño, Prime Minister of Belize; Anatole Collinet Makosso, Prime Minister of the Republic of Congo, and Aziz Akhannouch, the Head of Government of the Kingdom of Morocco. During the event, participants can take part in more than 90 sessions, including high-level panels, around the five key themes of the Global Gateway: digital, climate and energy, transport, health, and education and research. The Global Village will allow participants to showcase innovative projects related to EDD’s themes, and share experience about their initiatives. Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, will host the closing ceremony and participate in sessions on Global Gateway in Central Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Indo-Pacific region. She will also take part in the Lorenzo Natali Media Prize Ceremony. The EDDs, Europe’s leading forum on international partnerships for the past 15 years, gathers stakeholders across all sectors to take stock on today’s most pressing challenges. More information on the EDDs and the programme is available here.