He wants to reassure a continent “on the verge of becoming a power” on many levels. During a visit to Nairobi, Kenya, Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné assured that France wishes to “build balanced partnerships” which must “be beneficial” to African countries, at a time when Paris is facing a strong questioning in Africa, particularly in the Sahel.
The head of French diplomacy, who took office in January, began his first African tour in Kenya on Saturday, which will then take him to Rwanda, where he will attend on Sunday the commemorations of the 30th anniversary of the Tutsi genocide, then to Côte d'Ivoire. 'Ivory.
“France will have the vocation to renew and build balanced partnerships, mutually respectful, and for the benefit of all countries, with African countries,” declared Stéphane Séjourné during a press conference in Nairobi with his Kenyan counterpart. Musalia Mudavadi.
“This is the whole challenge of our roadmap: to diversify these partnerships, to make them beneficial for the countries in which we are going to invest,” he continued.
“Great cooperation”
“In Africa, it is not just the Sahel, there is great cooperation,” added the minister, stressing that “the African continent is on the way to becoming a cultural, economic, diplomatic power (…) which will count in the balance of the world.
In Kenya, “which is not a traditional partner”, France is notably strengthening its economic presence. In ten years, the number of French companies established in the country has almost tripled, from 50 to 140.
Asked about the “trade imbalance” in the relationship with France, Musalia Mudavadi replied that it was a “work in progress”.
“The process of addressing the trade imbalance requires coherent programs and joint efforts, as we are doing. The number of French companies is increasing and those present are capable of hiring 34,000 Kenyans in direct employment,” he stressed.
A commitment against climate change
The two ministers discussed cooperation in terms of transport and sports infrastructure, but also in the fight against climate change, an area in which Kenyan President William Ruto has become the spokesperson for developing countries.
Faced with the urgency and the “need to urgently increase global climate financing (…) including (through) contributions from the private sector and other innovative sources”, Musalia Mudavadi called “all countries to join the working group on international taxation”, launched by the two countries and Barbados during COP28 in December.
The three countries then announced that they wanted to create a coalition to bring together countries wishing to create within two years an international tax capable of raising billions of dollars to help developing countries deal with climate change.