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European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen pitched the bloc as a dependable partner in a transactional world Thursday as she hosted about a dozen Global South leaders at an investment conference in Brussels.
Rwanda's Paul Kagame and Angola's Joao Lourenco were among those attending the opening of a two-day event aimed at bolstering a global infrastructure plan that Brussels hopes can counter China's global growing influence.
"Tariffs and trade barriers are back as a tool of geopolitics and geoeconomics," von der Leyen told the Global Gateway Forum, an implicit reference to US and Chinese policies.
"Export controls have become a tool of statecraft, to damage competitors and extract concessions. Dependencies are weaponised," she said.
"The way forward is through partnerships. Partnerships based on common interests and respect for sovereignty. That is what unites us here today. That is Europe's approach," added the EU chief.
"Like you, we recognise that our strength relies in diversifying our relationships".
Global Gateway, the EU's external investment strategy, has mobilised more than 306 billion euro ($355 billion) since its launch in 2021 for projects in areas including clean energy, transport, and research, she said.
"Just as I walked in, I could smell money," South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa quipped in his opening speech, noting more than 150 European companies were represented at the event.
Proponents say the initiative fosters European interests and influence while creating jobs and boosting green development abroad.
But critics retort that it sometimes repeats extractive colonial practices, treating local communities as an afterthought.
They also warn that the use of loans risks saddling nations already struggling to pay off creditors with still more debt.
"It is deeply problematic," said Frank Vanaerschot, director of Counter Balance, a coalition of NGOs scrutinising public finance institutions.
"It uses the development budget, but is increasingly prioritising EU companies and geopolitical interests over climate and energy projects which prioritise local climate action and strong social and economic benefits."
Among the investments showcased at the forum was the Lobito corridor, a railway project connecting mineral rich-areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia to the Atlantic coast; and plans for submarine communication cables running across the Mediterranean.