The European Commission has approved the first 12 projects with a total amount of 107 million euros(about 133.57 million U.S. dollars) of its new Pan-African program, according to a press release of the Commission here on Thursday.
The projects launched will "support migration, higher education and research and infrastructure, as well as public finance management and the development of statistics," according to the press release.
Activities financed under the decision include tackling the issue of migration by improving dialogue between Africa and the EU, reinforcing the role Diaspora organizations play in supporting development in Africa, and access for researchers to high-capacity Internet connectivity.
EU Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development Neven Mimica said these first projects of the Pan-African program are evidence of the EU's determination to strengthen and deepen strategic partnership with Africa.
The Pan-African Program was announced at the fourth Africa-EU summit in Brussels in April this year and will amount to 845 million euros from 2014 to 2020. (1euro = 1.25 U.S. dollars)