"Europe would benefit greatly from turning more to Africa. The world is evolving such that the upcoming big powers will be the US, China, India, and possibly Brazil. Europe is not one of the major powers. And Africa even less so of course. But Africa has what Europe lacks: space, human resources, and natural resources while Europe has the technological innovation that Africa lacks. Together we can become a power which can count in the future. I’m not interested in being sentimental about Africa. I’m an economist and I am here because Germany has a role to play economically and financially. The discussions I had in Berlin show that we have a lot in common."