The Central African Republic wants to "
rebuild ties of trust
" with France, its new ambassador to Paris Flavien Mbata told AFP on Friday, as diplomatic relations have deteriorated in recent years between the two countries.
The position had been vacant for almost a year.
The diplomat took office on Friday.
Paris denounces disinformation campaigns, which would be fed from Moscow, and nourishing anti-French sentiment in the country.
France particularly deplores the growing influence of the Russian group Wagner, accused by the UN of serious human rights violations in the CAR.
"
During a ceremony, I presented my letter of credentials to French President Emmanuel Macron who accepted it
," said Flavien Mbata.
Re-establish the links
"
The quintessence of the message is the will of the Central African President (Faustin-Archange) Touadéra to rebuild the bonds of trust between France and the Central African Republic within the framework of our bilateral cooperation
", he added.
He specified that it was a question of making this relationship “
more dynamic
” and of “
diversifying
it ” by extending it beyond the economic sector, to the cultural or sports sector for example.
Magistrate, former chief of staff to the President of the Constitutional Court and former Minister of Justice, Flavien Mbata assured that all subjects would be "
on the table
", that there would be "
no taboo subjects
".
In mid-December, the last 47 French soldiers deployed in the Central African Republic had left.
This withdrawal was decided by Paris in the summer of 2021 precisely in the face of the growing role of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner in this country in civil war since 2013.
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A former colonial power, France had deployed more than a thousand soldiers in the Central African Republic in 2013 as part of Operation Sangaris, with the green light from the UN, to put an end to inter-community violence there.
Sangaris, which numbered up to 1,600 men, lasted until 2016.
Taking advantage of the vacuum created by the departure of the bulk of French troops, Moscow dispatched “
military instructors
” to the country in 2018, then hundreds of paramilitaries in 2020 at the request of Bangui, faced with a threatening rebellion.
