Op-ed by His Excellency Mr. Ambassador Sylvain Riquier, Ambassador of France to Cameroon
Nearly ten years after the speech of the President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron in Ouagadougou, which laid the bases of a renewal of relations between France and African countries, Kenya and France co-organize the Africa Forward Summit on May 11 and 12, 2026 in Nairobi.
What is aimed at is partnership relations founded on shared interests and concrete results. Thus, for nine years, numerous initiatives have been implemented: end of our permanent military presence and closure of bases in Senegal, Chad, Gabonand Côte d’Ivoire privileging training actions (21 national schools with regional vocation); support to the representativeness of the African continent in international bodies; mobilization of our partners with the organization of summits in favor of the economic rise of the continent (Conference on the financing of African economies in 2021 and Paris Summit for a New Global Financial Pact in 2023), of the fight against global warming (One Forest Summit in Gabon in 2023), of the strengthening of food sovereignty (Food & Agriculture Resilience Mission initiative in 2022), or also of the production of vaccines in Africa (World Forum for Vaccine Sovereignty and Innovation in 2024).
In the same way, France has known how to look its colonial past in the face, with the will to move forward in a spirit of dialogue. The work of memory on the actions of the State and of the French administration has been launched everywhere where it was wished, as in Rwanda and in Senegal, with an unprecedented movement on questions of restitution of cultural goods in several other countries, in Benin, in Algeria, in Senegal, in Madagascar and in Côte d’Ivoire. In Cameroon, historical acts have been posed. The recognition of the Cameroon War by the President of the French Republic marked a stage resulting from a historical work carried by researchers of the two countries.
The engagement of France translates itself by concrete actions, responding to the priorities of Cameroon. It rests on a clear choice: to invest in structuring projects which support long-term growth and reinforce the economic independence of Cameroon. The modernization of urban infrastructures is one of the pillars, through the “Regional Capitals” program and the “Yaoundé Heart of the City” project, which contribute to improving mobility and the quality of life of city dwellers. In the energy domain, our cooperation accompanies decisive transformations: our support to the deployment of public lighting in the large cities, as well as the Nachtigal Dam, fully functional and capable of covering one third of the energy needs of Cameroon, mark a major advance for the electric production of the country.
In the agricultural sector, several structuring programs accompany field actors: the program of improvement of the competitiveness of family agropastoral exploitations (ACEFA) has already supported more than 300,000 exploitations; the program of support to professional training (AFOP) has permitted the insertion of 17,000 young people in agricultural professions; the national participatory development program (PNDP) has generated more than 4,500 jobs in pastoral zones.
In matters of health, Franco-Cameroonian cooperation inscribes itself in national priorities: the C2D Health II program notably supports access to care for pregnant women. The RESINA project contributes to responding more to nutritional needs, notably for mothers in the least connected zones. The deployment of the health voucher supported by AFD also opens access to care, notably to women in priority regions.
The engagement of France in Cameroon wants itself resolutely beneficial to youth and to civil society. Initiatives in favor of training and of professional insertion, such as the Form Pro 237 program, bring a support to innovation and to entrepreneurship, with the Start-Up 237 fund, which has already accompanied more than one hundred project holders. This engagement also passes by sport and culture: the “Pépites du Cameroun” program supports the sporting talents of tomorrow and “MBOA Jeunes Créatifs” valorizes a dynamic youth.
The Africa Forward Summit, hosted in Nairobi on May 11 and 12, is the occasion to demonstrate the action of France, Kenya and African countries to accelerate cross investments, while building and financing concrete solutions to common challenges. Among the central themes, many make echo to the Franco-Cameroonian partnership: strengthening of health systems, food sovereignty, competitiveness in the domain of digital, access to energy and connectivity. This summit illustrates the richness and the diversity of relations between the African continent and France, which are woven around a plurality of actors—States, companies, youths, artists, diasporas, with a central place given to youth and to the private sector.
The summit, anchored in action and constructed with all the heads of State and of government of the continent, will permit to consolidate the links which unite Africa and France, and to tie partnerships turned towards the future.
