‘Europe is coming to Africa’. But Macron’s Nairobi summit could be little more than a PR exercise

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Emmanuel Macron’s ‘Africa Forward’ summit in Kenya next week has raised eyebrows about France’s diplomatic shift. (Photo: OFFICIAL LEWEB PHOTOS)

EU and the World

‘Europe is coming to Africa’. But Macron’s Nairobi summit could be little more than a PR exercise

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By Benjamin Fox,
Nairobi
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A joint summit hosted by French president Emmanuel Macron and his Kenyan counterpart William Ruto in Nairobi this week will be focussed on “Europe coming to Africa on an equal basis”, according to Kenyan officials.

“Africa is not coming to Europe, it is a case of Europe coming to Africa on an equal basis,” Abraham Korir Sing’Oei, permanent secretary at Kenya’s foreign ministry, told reporters on Thursday (7 May) 

Billed as the ‘Africa Forward Summit’, Macron and Ruto are expected to unveil a series of investment deals involving French companies in Kenya, including a technology transfer agreement on vaccine production. 

“It’s not Africa begging, it’s not about aid. It’s about what we can do together with an equal relationship,” added Korir Sing’Oei. 

The choice of Kenya was a surprise since France has traditionally had little diplomatic presence in anglophone Africa. Having been forced to abandon its military operation in West Africa’s Sahel region by a group of military juntas in the region, France and the EU have been forced to rapidly rethink their African diplomacy. 

More than 2,000 delegates are expected in Nairobi on 11-12 May, with the Élysée Palace briefing that around 30 African heads of state and government will attend, though South African president Cyril Ramaphosa has confirmed that he will not be among them. However, it is not clear whether the summit will amount to much more than a public relations exercise. 

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Emmanuel Macron’s ‘Africa Forward’ summit in Kenya next week has raised eyebrows about France’s diplomatic shift. (Photo: OFFICIAL LEWEB PHOTOS)

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Author Bio

Benjamin Fox is our trade and geopolitics editor. His reporting has also been published in the Guardian, the East African, Euractiv, Private Eye and Africa Confidential, among others. He is based in Nairobi, Kenya, although he often reports from London.

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