French president reaches out to new allies after setbacks in relations with his country’s former colonies in west Africa
A French-African summit held every few years since 1973 is taking place in a non-francophone country for the first time on Tuesday as Emmanuel Macron tries to rebuild France’s role on the continent after setbacks in its former colonies.
More than 30 heads of state and government are meeting in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, for this year’s iteration of the summit. Named Africa Forward, it is being seen by analysts as an attempt by France to court new allies.
The leaders are joining representatives of the African Union, financial institutions and the development sector to discuss themes including energy transition, peace and security and reform of the international financial architecture.
The summit was preceded on Monday by networking, matchmaking and workshop events on youth, creative and cultural industries and sport.
