The Africa Forward Summit is expected to take place from Monday in Nairobi, Kenya. It will be co-chaired by Kenyan President William Ruto and French President Emmanuel Macron.

This high-level summit aims to strengthen Africa-France partnerships through investments in innovation, energy, digital technology, and sustainable growth.

According to the government of Kenya, more than thirty heads of state are expected to attend. More than 1 000 business leaders and entrepreneurs will also be part of the summit.

The main goal of the gathering is to move from dialogue to action.

Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Foreign & Diaspora Affairs, Musalia Mudavadi says, “This is a very important summit. The Africa Forward Summit, first of all, speaks to the future of Africa. For us as Africans, it speaks to a couple of issues. First, it is an honour to host the first summit of this nature.”

There’s optimism that partnerships would create jobs.

“Potential in the African continent has been unleashed and is being recognised. It’s a very important opportunity for us to bring out the innovation capacity in Africa, ” says Mudavadi.

Kenya is also a significant player in the coffee market.

Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture and Livestock Development, Mutahi Kagwe, says, “Kenya is very rich and endowed in agriculture, and Kenya has a special place in the global community as far as agriculture is concerned. We believe a partnership between Kenyan companies and French companies will be a win-win partnership ”

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa won’t be part of the two-day summit due to prior engagements, according to the Presidency.

–SABC–