EU Places Bar Higher During Global Gateway Forum 2025 Despite International Trade Tussles
On 9 October 2025, the 2nd Global Gateway Forum (#GGF2025) officially opened in Brussels. EC President Ursula von der Leyen took the stage to report on the Global Gateway Initiative (#GGI) which was launched in 2021 and also provided cues about the principal axes of the initiative in the future.
In the first four years of the Initiative, Team Europe has already mobilized EUR 306 billion, exceeding its initial target of EUR 300 billion for the period from 2021 to 2027. Therefore, the EU plans now to raise the bar and garner up to EUR 400 billion by 2027. In support of this higher objective, the EU is launching a Global Gateway Investment Hub which will act as a single-entry platform for stakeholders to propose and partner on projects. Additionally, the European Investment Bank and the World Bank will also cooperate to develop a Global Emerging Markets Risk Database (GEM) to support data-driven decisions based on the investment potential and risk evaluation of proposed projects.
“The success of Global Gateway shows a growing demand for partnership with Europe, that is based on reliability, transparency, and mutual benefit. This is a great opportunity for Europe and at this year’s Global Gateway Forum, together with our partners, we are turning that demand into action, identifying new opportunities, expanding our cooperation, and proving that when Europe and its partners work together, we deliver real impact for both sides.”
EC Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Sikela
In the lead-up to the Forum, the Global Gateway Board convened a meeting. The Board took note of the current geopolitical and geoeconomic realities where certain state actors are using custom tariffs and export controls as pressure points. In that context, the Board called for closer coordination among member states to adapt to the new order and to derisk dependencies by diversifying destination markets and supply sources.
During her keynote address, EC President Von der Leyen highlighted certain focus sectors such as Energy, Digitalization, and Transport. To illustrate her point, she went on to outline the success of a number of high-impact flagship projects under #GGI:
- Integration of Regional Power Grid in ASEAN, LatAm
- Scaling up of Hydropower in Central Asia
- Clean Energy in South Africa, Togo and Mauritania
- Strategic Port in Cabo Verde
- MEDUSA Submarine Cable in Middle-East
- Sustainable Cocoa Initiative in Africa
- Transformation of Sargassum in Caribbean
- Enhance Health Sovereignty in Africa via MAV+
Africa constituted a central focus of the Global Gateway Forum 2025 as several African Presidents attended, including Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, Joao Lourenco of Angola, Felix Tshisekedi of DR Congo, and Paul Kagame of Rwanda. At the end of September 2025, Ursula von der Leyen announced an investment package of EUR 545 million to bolster renewable energy and electricity access in Africa. Looking at the larger picture, the EU has a more ambitious goal of providing #ElectricityAccess to 100 million Africans by 2030 through the deployment of at least 50 GW of renewable energy under the Africa – Eurpoe Union Green Energy Initiative (#AEGEI).
The EU is also partnering with the US on the flagship #LobitoCorridor project. The Corridor will not only facilitate access to #CriticalMinerals in the #Copperbelt region of Zambia and DR Congo but is also evolving into one of the key #EconomicCorridors in Africa which streamlines logistics, facilitate trade, and uplift the local communities.