Today, at the Global Gateway Forum in Brussels, the EU and Team Europe announced several new strategic initiatives to increase their engagement in the Lobito Corridor. This major route for regional economic integration, strengthens connections between the southern regions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), northwestern Zambia, and Angola, linking them more effectively to regional and global trade markets through the port of Lobito.
These new initiatives will support key value chains in agriculture and enhance technical and vocational education and training projects to support with the required skills the development of the Lobito Corridor.
European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela said: “As Team Europe, we believe that the Lobito Corridor can have a transformative impact on both economy and people in the whole region. It presents a significant opportunity to the development of local communities. Our aim is to unlock the potential of the corridor not only in critical raw materials, but also in different value chains that can be developed together with the corridor. We are reinforcing the cooperation between public and private key players, both in partner countries and in Europe. This is what Global Gateway is about: leveraging investments in strategic sectors to boost growth, job creation and stability.”
The scale-up of the Lobito Corridor programme includes:
- Adoption by the European Commission of a €50 million envelope to support the development of the agriculture sector along the Lobito Corridor in Angola. Through this programme, the EU will support production, distribution and investments in key agri-value chains.
- Launch of the “From Transport to Trade: Lobito Corridor Catalyst” project (€8 million) in Angola. The EU announced a contribution agreement with Invest International (Netherlands) and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the operationalisation of the Caála Logistics Platform.
- A new partnership with the DRC on the project “Agricultural value chains for food sovereignty, integrated rural development and ecological restoration in South-East Congo” (€10 million), to be implemented by the GoCongo enterprise.
- A 6 million EU grant to TradeMark Africa to support regional trade and facilitation of procedures with DRC and Angola. Through technical assistance and capacity building, the action will support trade along the Lobito Corridor by enhancing, harmonising and simplifying customs procedures and related regulatory and legal frameworks.
- A €9.8 million contribution agreement with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) to support vocational training in Zambia’s artisanal mining sector.
- A €36 million grant has been announced together with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für International Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) to support access to market and inclusive and sustainable legume and horticulture agriculture value chain in Zambia, through innovative agri-enterprise development, enhancing linkages of smallholders into value chains, and job creation in rural areas.
With these new investments, the EU supports the Lobito Corridor development as a transformative artery:
- Securing access to critical raw material value chains;
- Facilitating transport and trade at regional level and boosting exports;
- Supporting sustainable agriculture value chains and increasing productivity, including through support to small-holder farmers;
- Stimulating vocational training and new jobs in key sectors like sustainable energy, transport, logistics, agriculture and critical raw materials.
It will also secure access to essential resources for European businesses, strengthen trade ties, and create opportunities for European businesses to partner up with local and regional businesses.
Background
The Lobito Corridor
This Global Gateway flagship project was launched at the first edition of the Global Gateway Forum in 2023. As the first open-access transcontinental rail link in Africa, it has a huge economic and social potential. Anchored by the Port of Lobito on the Atlantic Coast, this corridor provides easier access from land-locked resource-rich regions of Angola, DRC and Zambia and facilitates cross-border trade between the three countries.
The EU engagement in the Lobito Corridor is based on a 360-degree approach, with objectives such as economic diversification, infrastructure, governance and environmental sustainability.
This is supported by integrated development actions along these transport infrastructure axes, focused on five priority sectors - renewable energy and climate; critical raw material value chains; transit and trade facilitation; technical and vocational training and skill development; agricultural value chains - making it a comprehensive economic corridor.
Global Gateway Forum
The Global Gateway Forum brings together an assembly of leaders from the European Union and across the globe, alongside key stakeholders from the private sector, civil society, thought leaders, financial institutions, and international organisations to promote global investment in infrastructure - hard and soft - to deliver on the SDGs and sustainable growth and resilience worldwide.
Global Gateway
Global Gateway is the EU's positive offer to reduce the worldwide investment disparity and boost smart, clean and secure connections in digital, energy and transport sectors, and to strengthen health, education and research systems.
The Global Gateway strategy embodies a Team Europe approach that brings together the European Union, EU Member States, and European development finance institutions. Together, we aim to mobilise up to €300 billion in public and private investments from 2021 to 2027, creating essential links rather than dependencies, and closing the global investment gap.
For more Information
- Publication date
- 10 October 2025
- Author
- Directorate-General for International Partnerships