Political Correspondent
The Africa Forward Summit concluded in Nairobi this week with €23bn (R445bn) in investment pledges, representatives from nearly 30 countries and some of the continent’s most prominent business figures, including Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote.
South Africa was not among those represented at the head-of-state level, though both Pretoria and Paris insist the absence was a matter of scheduling rather than politics.
President Cyril Ramaphosa did not attend. The minister in the presidency, Maropene Ramokgopa, who also serves as ANC second deputy secretary-general, had been designated as his replacement but also did not travel to Nairobi, held back by ANC obligations, including a meeting of the party’s top seven officials and a national executive committee sitting.
Eleonore Caroit, France’s minister delegate responsible for Francophonie, international partnerships and French nationals abroad, addressed the gap directly, saying South Africa’s absence carried no political meaning and that bilateral relations between the two countries remain solid.
