Uganda's Foreign Affairs Minister John Mulimba sat down with France's ambassador Virginie Leroy and Kenya's High Commissioner Joash Maangi to hash out plans for the Africa-France Forward Summit happening in Nairobi. President William Ruto and President Emmanuel Macron will co-host the gathering, and Kenya asked Uganda to join as a co-host instead of just showing up as another guest because the countries share priorities and tight relations.
Leroy mentioned France picked agro-processing, energy transition, connectivity projects, AI tech, and health as focus areas after consulting with Kenya and other players. Mulimba said Africa wants real partnerships instead of the usual development aid handouts, and the summit could reshape how the continent deals with other partners. France throws major foreign investment into Uganda's oil and gas sector, and Mulimba thinks the event will help push joint infrastructure stuff like the Standard Gauge Railway forward.
The summit outcome will produce the Nairobi Declaration, which France plans to bring to the G7 when it takes over leadership duties.
Leroy mentioned France picked agro-processing, energy transition, connectivity projects, AI tech, and health as focus areas after consulting with Kenya and other players. Mulimba said Africa wants real partnerships instead of the usual development aid handouts, and the summit could reshape how the continent deals with other partners. France throws major foreign investment into Uganda's oil and gas sector, and Mulimba thinks the event will help push joint infrastructure stuff like the Standard Gauge Railway forward.
The summit outcome will produce the Nairobi Declaration, which France plans to bring to the G7 when it takes over leadership duties.
