Kenya hosts Africa Forward, the first Franco-African summit in an English-speaking country.
The Africa Forward summit, held in Nairobi (Kenya) on May 11 and 12, and organized by France and the African country, symbolizes a turn in political and economic relations between Paris and the neighboring continent. Over more than five decades, these meetings had always taken place in France or in French-speaking African nations. This time it was in an English-speaking country. The decision represents, on the part of Paris, a broadening of the horizons in relations with the neighboring continent, in addition to strengthening political and commercial ties with other African nations in a context in which its influence over its former colonies, especially in West Africa, has decreased while anti-French sentiment has grown.
For Gilles Yabi, a Beninese political analyst based in Dakar, speaking to the BBC, “this is not just a reaction from France to the deterioration of relations with some West African countries. It is also a long-standing trend, as France realizes that it has to look for new markets and look beyond the former colonies. The decision also comes at a time when other powers such as China, Russia and Türkiye are gaining influence.
In his appearances during the summit, French President Emmanuel Macron emphasized the efforts that his Government is carrying out to reshape the relationship with African countries, trying to build equal partnerships, moving away from the old colonial model of Françafrique and the “donor-recipient” dynamic. According to Control Risks analyst Beverly Ochieng, France is “repositioning and softening its presence and reputation,” seeking to rely less on its military influence and increasingly use business and investment to maintain its relevance on the continent. Thus, the French president announced the mobilization of 23 billion euros in investments, a package that combines 14 billion from French funds and 9,000 from African investors. “France seeks to leverage its already recognized trademarks, its cultural presence and its weight in the European Union to mobilize commercial initiatives,” Ochieng added.
The Kenyan perspective
For Kenyan President William Ruto, the May meeting marks a significant shift towards a more balanced and action-oriented relationship, an opportunity to forge forward-thinking alliances that drive the continent’s long-term economic transformation, alliances that are not based on dependency, extraction and charity, but on sovereign equality and mutually beneficial investment. “The times ahead demand stronger cooperation, renewed multilateralism and alliances based not on hierarchy, but on sovereign equality, mutual respect and shared responsibility,” he said during the inauguration. «What Africa needs is not charity, but investments; not extraction, but value creation; not dependency, but mutually beneficial alliances capable of generating shared prosperity,” Ruto added. According to several experts, Kenya hopes that strengthening its relationship with France will increase its influence and leadership on the continent, allowing it to rival South Africa.
One of the key issues denounced by the Kenyan president and his Nigerian counterpart, Bola Tinubu, as well as Macron or the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, was the international financial system, which forces African countries to face excessively high borrowing costs, limited access to financing on favorable conditions and distorted risk perceptions that discourage long-term investment in productive sectors (see pp. 8-9). «This imbalance is neither sustainable nor fair. “It is one of the main constraints on Africa’s ability to finance infrastructure, industrialization, climate change adaptation and economic transformation at the scale needed,” Ruto said.
Local industrialization was another of the issues that Guterres defended in his speech: “For too long, resources have been extracted from Africa and value obtained elsewhere.” He criticized the world order, which he described as “a global system designed without Africa and still largely functions without it,” and praised African countries for leading efforts to reform global finance, climate policy and international governance. In addition to Guterres, other leaders denounced that a continent with more than 1.5 billion inhabitants does not have permanent representation on the UN Security Council and a more equitable presence in institutions such as the International Monetary Fund.
The principal secretary of the Kenyan Department of State for Foreign Affairs, Korir Sing’oei, expressed in an article for the digital version of New African Magazine that Africa Forward has been held “at a crucial time for global governance, but also at a time when Africa’s position in the international system is strengthening. “Economic changes, demographic trends and climate pressures are bringing the continent closer to the center of global policy debates.” For Sing’oei, Africa’s role in global affairs is increasingly recognized, although progress is slow. “What is changing is the growing recognition that the system has not been fair to Africa and that the continent deserves better,” he said.
One of the purposes of Africa Forward was to serve as a platform to unify continental demands in view of the next G7 meeting, which will be held in Évian (France), between June 15 and 17. The African demands, included in the Nairobi Declaration, could be presented by Ruto, who has been invited by Paris to the meeting. The president stressed that “Africa does not seek privileges, but justice; We do not seek exclusion, but inclusion. “We do not seek confrontation, but collaboration based on mutual respect, shared responsibility and shared progress.”
A day before the summit, Kenya and France signed 11 bilateral agreements at State House in Nairobi designed to transform strategic sectors: the modernization of the Nairobi commuter railway, the development of state-of-the-art port infrastructure, the production of sustainable aviation fuel, the transfer of French technology and experience for the development of nuclear energy in the African country and other measures to strengthen renewable energy, the modernization of meteorological services, collaboration in cybersecurity and artificial intelligence, and cooperation in agricultural trade and management. of maritime resources, among others. Ruto highlighted that these pacts go beyond the rhetoric of great speeches and are based on the implementation of projects with measurable results for citizens, a spirit – that of carrying out concrete actions – that was maintained throughout the entire summit.
