Africa Forward Summit: Securing balanced, future-oriented partnerships
Almost 10 years after French President Emmanuel Macron’s Ouagadougou speech, which laid the foundations for renewed relations between France and the African States, Kenya and France are co-organising the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi on May 11 and 12, 2026.
This renewal is built on a partnership of equals, based on impactful cooperation, shared interests and tangible results, as illustrated by President John Dramani Mahama’s official visit to France in April 2026 and by Ghana’s co-chairmanship of the One Health Summit in Lyon.
Initiatives have been implemented over the past nine years, since President Emmanuel Macron has started its mandate: supporting greater representation of African countries in international forums; mobilising our partners by organising summits on the economic growth of the continent (Conference on the Financing of African Economies in 2021 and Paris
Summit for a New Global Financing Pact in 2023), fighting global warming (One Forest Summit in Gabon in 2023), strengthening food security (Food & Agriculture Resilience Mission in 2022), producing vaccines in Africa (Global Forum for Vaccine Sovereignty and Innovation in 2024), ending permanent French military presence and closing bases in Senegal, Chad, Gabon and Côte d’Ivoire, prioritising training courses and other forms of collaboration (21 regionally oriented national schools (ENVRs)).
Dialogue
Similarly, France has decided and has been able to face its colonial past, to move forward in a spirit of dialogue.
Remembrance work on the actions of the French State and public administration began wherever it was requested (Rwanda, Senegal, Cameroon), and an unprecedented movement of restitution and return of cultural goods was initiated (Benin, Algeria, Senegal, Madagascar, Côte d'Ivoire).
President Mahama and President Macron have also decided to work closely on the follow-up to the Declaration of the Trafficking of Enslaved Africans and Racialised Chattel Enslavement of Africans adopted on March 25, 2026, by the United Nations General Assembly, under the leadership of President Mahama.
Specifically, in Ghana, France’s renewed commitment has led to:
• Focusing on youth and women, with numerous projects in entrepreneurship, agriculture, health, culture, volunteering and sports;
• Developing strong scientific cooperation, particularly in the field of artificial intelligence, in support of the launch of Ghana’s AI strategy and promoting academic mobilities between France and Ghana;
• Strengthening economic cooperation, reflected in a 30 per cent increase in bilateral trade, the presence of 61 French companies operating in Ghana, more than 50,000 direct and indirect jobs, and 2.5 billion euros in investments.
In the same vein, the Africa Forward Summit, for the first time hosted and co-chaired by an English-speaking country, will reflect the profound transformation in its ties with African countries, which France undertook almost 10 years ago, based on acknowledgement of the past and a will to build balanced, forward-looking partnerships.
It will be an opportunity to highlight the commitment of France, Kenya, Ghana and other African countries to stepping up mutual investment and to building and financing tangible solutions to common challenges, including health system strengthening, food sovereignty, digital competitiveness, energy access and connectivity.
It will illustrate the rich diversity of relations between African States and France, built around a wide variety of actors – States, business leaders, young people, artists, diasporas, with special emphasis on young people and the private sector.
The results of the Summit, which are focused on action and built with all of the continent’s Heads of State and Government, will help consolidate the ties binding Africa and France, and build forward-looking partnerships.
The writer is the Ambassador of France to Ghana.
