France seeks to move beyond colonial ties by meeting African leaders in Kenya

French President Emmanuel Macron announced investments worth $27bn in Africa on Monday at the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi. The investments will be in areas such as energy transition, digital and AI, the maritime economy and agriculture. He said, "Africa is succeeding. It's the youngest continent in the world… and needs investment to become more self-reliant," adding that this would create some 250,000 jobs in Africa, and in France.

The two-day summit is aimed at broadening Paris's partnerships and making investment deals on the continent. Kenya's Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi called it an "opportunity for Africa to start speaking as one". He also said it was an "opportune moment" for Kenya and France to break away from the "more or less artificial" linguistic barriers. Last week, Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing'oei described Kenya as a "bridge-builder" in Africa.

None of the leaders of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger are attending the summit. President Macron defended France's significantly reduced military presence on the continent, saying French troops leaving "wasn't a humiliation but a logical response to a given situation". He added, "When our presence was no longer wanted after the coups, we left. I'm convinced that we must let these states and their leaders, even putschists, chart their own course."