Let me first say, together with President Costa, that the European Union is very pleased to be here in Johannesburg. This G20 Summit is the first on African soil. The first since the African Union joined as a permanent member. This is highlighting Africa's central and vital role on the global stage, and the leadership of President Ramaphosa and South Africa.
The G20 is a premier global forum to find common solutions to common challenges, such as how to maintain reliable, rules-based trade in a volatile global economy; how to ensure climate change, food and energy resilience; and how to meet the opportunities and risks posed by rapid technological change. These are the topics of the three roundtables that will form the core of our discussions in the next two days. Allow me to go into further detail on each of them.
First, on trade. Europe is doubling down on our core belief that rules-based trade delivers. We will continue to champion partnership, openness and fair competition. That is the message we will bring to this G20 and to the EU-African Union Summit which follows it. Our network of Free Trade Agreements is already the biggest in the world: 44 agreements with 76 partners. With more on the way. The agreements we have reached with Mercosur, Mexico and Indonesia further strengthen our network. We are working non-stop to finalise an agreement with India – but also with Australia, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, and the UAE. Just yesterday, the EU and South Africa concluded a Clean Trade and Investment Partnership (CTIP). We are a partner that plays by the rules. A partner that listens. And above all, a partner that delivers mutual gains in trade and investment, which in turn delivers good jobs. We believe in the mutual gain in trade and investment. We will continue advocating for a strong, reformed and relevant World Trade Organisation, including here at the G20.
For the second roundtable, the motto is 'a resilient world'. And here the focus is on fighting climate change and the clean energy transition. The EU wants to bring a message of hope and opportunity to this G20 Summit. It is a message about clean energy technologies and clean energy transitions. Because not only do they meet our urgent need to tackle climate change. They do much more than that, and the business case by now is doing much better. Clean energy transitions are cost-competitive. They create good jobs. They open new ways to bring modern energy to the many millions that remain without access to energy, and they are a natural fit for many developing economies. As it is about the resources that these developing economies have in abundance. And it is not only about solar, but also wind, geothermal, hydropower, and the new low-emissions fuels. But for the clean transition to truly succeed, it must happen everywhere. That is important. This is where reliable cooperation between trusted partners is yet again the best way forward. I welcome South Africa making this a focal point of their G20 Presidency. Think about two figures. Last year the investment in clean energy was globally EUR 2 trillion, but only 2% of this investment went to Africa – the continent with 60% of the world's best solar potential. This cannot be. We must change this imbalance. That is at the core of the EU's Global Gateway initiative. Of the whole EUR 300 billion, 25% go into energy investment and this to the Global South. The EU wants to be Africa's partner of choice, that is important for us. And the opportunity is now. And therefore, I welcome that there is a side event here at G20 this afternoon. Together with President Ramaphosa, we will host the final pledging event of our campaign 'Scaling Up Renewables for Africa'. It will be a key moment because we will convene governments, investors and philanthropists to come together and to power Africa's future. I hope to see you there too.
My final point is on the third roundtable, 'a fair and just future'. And here we will discuss the new issues like digital governance and how to enter the global economic mainstream with digitalisation. That is why I am looking forward to our discussions on AI. AI is a revolution. We must make it a revolution with citizens at its core. For Europe, innovation and accountability do not pull in opposite directions. On the contrary, they push together. And we are already working hand in hand with G20 partners who share the same vision of AI. It must be a game-changer for good. This potential is strong on the African continent. From optimizing the renewable energy grids to predicting natural disasters You need AI in these topics. And here Europe is working with their partners to lay the groundwork, here in Africa, for AI factories. In other words, this is bringing computational power to the many start-ups that are here on the continent, so that they can train, develop and improve their models.
So to conclude, I look forward to the next 2 days.
