REPORT | Monthly

Med-Or Monthly Africa Report | May 2026

Africa–Europe relations are entering a new phase: one driven less by aid and more by strategic investment, industrial partnerships, and long-term economic integration.

Over the past weeks, discussions in Rome, Brussels, and Nairobi confirmed two major trends:

   • Kenya is consolidating its role as one of Africa’s leading diplomatic and economic hubs, increasingly central to Europe–Africa engagement and broader Global South dynamics.

   • A new development paradigm is emerging, focused on de-risking investment, industrial cooperation, infrastructure, critical minerals, cybersecurity, and resilient supply chains, rather than traditional donor-recipient models.

At the same time, security realities remain impossible to ignore. From the Sahel to the Horn of Africa, instability, terrorism, geopolitical competition, and fragile state structures continue to shape the broader strategic environment.

In this month’s Africa Report, we reflect on major crises and strategic developments across the continent: from the Sahel (Matilde Vecchioni), to Libya (Francesco Meriani), the Horn of Africa (Corrado Čok), the Great Lakes region (Luciano Pollichieni), and mediation efforts across the region (Chepkorir Sambu).

Please read below the full report - in both mobile and print versions - for those interested in the broader strategic dynamics shaping Africa–Europe relations today.