Macron stresses from Nairobi that Africa “needs investments,” not aid

French President Emmanuel Macron called on Monday, on the first day of the French-African Summit in Nairobi, to direct efforts towards “investment” instead of public aid, which Europe is already no longer able to provide to Africa as generously as before.

This summit, titled “Africa Forward,” is being held for the first time in an English-speaking country, Kenya, and began its work on Monday.

“Normally, this type of summit would start with a meeting between French and African officials,” Macron said at the University of Nairobi, in which French officials would say to the Africans, “Here is what is good for you, we will help you.”

He stressed, quoting Kenyan President William Ruto, that “this is no longer at all what Africa needs or wants to hear.”

He added, “We also no longer have the full potential,” in reference to the decline in public development aid in France, as in other Western countries facing crises in their public finances.

The French President noted that “Africa is achieving success” and “it needs investments to become more sovereign.”

Kenyan President William Ruto indicated that there is a need for investments in the education and infrastructure sectors, especially aimed at keeping pace with the technological revolution in the field of artificial intelligence.

In an interview published on Monday by the magazines “Jeune Afrique” and “The Africa Report,” Macron recalled that he had taken the initiative to “strongly condemn colonialism” since 2017, the year he came to power.

In response to criticism of former colonial powers, he considered that “the irony is that Europeans are not the predators of this century.” He believed that “Europe defends the international order, multilateralism, the rule of law, and free and open trade,” while the United States and China “act with the logic of trade confrontation” without respecting the rules.