Mixed scorecard as Kenya hosts historic France-Africa summit

French President Emmanuel Macron and Kenya President William Ruto during the closing of Africa Forward Summit on May, 2026 .[ Jonah onyango, Standard]

Kenya became the first country in Anglophone Africa to host the Africa Forward Summit marking a major structural shift in Africa-France relations.  
The milestone event brought French President Emmanuel Macron to a stage where France’s influence has narrowed sharply following political turmoil and ruptures across parts of West Africa and the Sahel, analysts said.   

In Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, military juntas have severed ties with Paris and moved toward new security partnerships. Against that backdrop, Macron used the Nairobi meeting to argue that France is pivoting from older models of engagement to a relationship he said was investment-led, mutually beneficial and rooted in “respect for sovereignty.”  

During the “ Africa Forward: Partnerships between Africa and France for Innovation and Growth, which was held at the Kenyatta International Convestion Centre (KICC) between  May 11–12 more than 2,000 participants from the political, economic, and civil society spheres attended, including internationally recognised elite athletes. The European Union, the African Union, international financial institutions, and development banks, including Agence Française de Dévelopement (AFD) Group, were also represented.  

It brought together 24 Presidents, five prime ministers, four vice-presidents, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, and African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali, making one of the biggest conference to be held in Nairobi in recent years.  

According to analysts, the summit identified solutions to shared challenges facing France and African countries and also provided the opportunity to amplify the voices of young leaders in an event designed as a platform for dialogue and for showcasing their ideas for the future of the African continent.  

“Africa and France are closely connected, with a shared history that includes both periods of hardship and moments of strong partnership. Today, exchanges are deepening. Climate challenges, in particular, are prompting greater attention toward the African continent, which offers concrete solutions,” said Sandra Kassab, Director of the Africa Department at AFD.  

During the summit, President Ruto said it presented 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 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.  

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.  
He pointed out that France is keen on defending the rule of law and international law, and believes in equality in trade relations.  

Analysts at AFD says Africa Forward reflects a renewed approach to relations between France and African countries, based on mutually beneficial partnerships and a relationship among equals.  
 It highlighted the outcomes of the shift in approach initiated in 2017, reflecting an inclusive and effective form of multilateralism grounded in the Pact for Prosperity, People, and the Planet, adopted in Paris in June 2023.  
They note that the summit was held for the first time in a non-francophone African country and illustrates stronger cooperation between France and all African countries in areas of shared interest.  

It was also clear that the summit was primarily focused on economic issues, including reform of the international financial architecture, the energy transition, green industrialisation, the blue economy, artificial intelligence, and digital technologies.  

“The private sector, civil society, and diaspora play a key role in renewing the relationship between the African continent and France. Their capacity for innovation, along with the development of concrete, shared solutions to today’s major challenges, were therefore central to the summit’s agenda. A business forum brought together, through workshops and meetings, senior executives from African and French companies, leaders of small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as young entrepreneurs and public sector representatives. The objective was to foster economic partnerships.” AFD says in its analysis.  

“This is a continent where the economic fabric relies heavily on the dynamism of individual entrepreneurs. Addressing issues of inclusion, support for SMEs, and entrepreneurship is essential to meet the challenges of economic prosperity and inclusion, particularly for young people and women,” said Kassab.  
During the summit, leaders also rallied behind the New African Financial Architecture for Development (NAFAD) and pan-African guarantee mechanisms to accelerate job creation and co-investment while delegates also adopted a broad declaration shifting the partnership from a traditional aid model to equal, sovereign co-investment, while explicitly pushing for better African representation in global financial institutions and the UN Security Council.  

Of interest to Kenya, it is notable that the country managed to sign 11 new bilateral agreements covering strategic priority sectors, including the digital economy, infrastructure, and energy.  
However, critics says that beneath those themes was a harder conversation about power.  

“Who decides how Africa is financed? Who defines risk? Who captures value from Africa’s resources, talent and markets? And how can global institutions adjust to a world in which Africa is central to growth, climate action, technology and security?”  
The UN was more concerned about issues at the heart of Africa’s development agenda: fairer financing, climate justice, stronger representation, investment in young people, digital transformation and partnerships shaped by African priorities.  
Guterres captured the mood of the Summit in a simple but powerful message.  
“Africa is not waiting. Africa is moving. Africa is leading,” he said.  
President Ruto captured this in his address that Africa’s challenge is not simply the absence of capital, but the way African risk is assessed and priced.  
“That point captured one of the Summit’s clearest messages. Africa is asking for fairer systems that allow capital to move on terms that match the continent’s priorities, potential and realities. This is where the debate becomes practical. High borrowing costs affect how quickly countries can build infrastructure, strengthen health systems, expand energy access, respond to climate shocks and invest in young people. Financing reform shapes daily life,” the UN said in its analysis of the summit.