President William Ruto has called for a win-win partnership between Africa and France built on mutual respect and shared responsibility.
The President said the Africa Forward Summit presents a unique opportunity for Africa and France to forge a forward-looking partnership that delivers shared progress while advancing Africa’s long-term economic transformation.
He said the partnership must not be built on dependency but on sovereign equality, not on aid or charity but on mutually beneficial investment, and not on extraction or exploitation but on one that benefits both parties.
“The times before us demand stronger cooperation, renewed multilateralism, and partnerships grounded not in hierarchy, but in sovereign equality, mutual respect, and shared responsibility,” he said.
He made the remarks during the opening of the Africa Forward Summit at KICC, Nairobi, which he co-chaired with President Emmanuel Macron of France.
How many presidents attended the Africa Forward Summit in Kenya?
The summit was attended by 24 Presidents, five prime ministers, four vice presidents, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, and African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali, among others.
President Ruto explained that Africa’s priorities include domestic mobilisation of resources for Africa’s development at scale, reform of the international financial architecture, development of transport, logistics and connectivity infrastructure.
Others are energy transition and green industrialisation, and youth skills development to foster creativity, innovation, entrepreneurship, and AI-driven transformation.
On his part, President Macron said the renewed partnership between Africa and France will be built on respect, courage, and shared ambitions.
He said the European agenda has every interest in seeing Africa attain economic sovereignty and autonomy.
“Your success is our success,” he said.
The French leader pointed out that £23 billion in investments in the private sector in Africa, £14 billion from French firms in Africa, and £9 billion in African businesses reflect a new partnership and vision for sustainable development.
He said the challenges facing Europe and Africa are shared, noting that both continents seek peace, prosperity, and sovereignty.
