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French President Emmanuel Macron will undertake a four-nation tour to the central African countries next week to counter the growing Chinese and Russian influence in the region. Of late, the West European countries, particularly France, have been getting setbacks, particularly from the Sahel region, where states have asked them to leave the country
French President Emmanuel Macron will undertake a four-nation tour to central African countries next week to counter the growing Chinese and Russian influence in the region. Of late, the West European countries, particularly France, have been getting setbacks, particularly from the Sahel region, where states have asked them to leave the country.
Macron will visit Gabon for an environmental summit. This will be followed by a visit to Angola, then the Republic of Congo, and finally the Democratic Republic of Congo. Paris is concerned over the growing role of Russia in French-speaking African countries. Chinese influence in the region has been growing for quite some time in the region.
According to European countries, the Russian Wagner mercenary group has been active in Mali. They were instrumental in forcing France to pull out troops on anti-jihadist missions, and the Central African Republic. Paris has also accused Russia of spreading disinformation about its vested interests in the region.
Macron will arrive in Gabon on March 1 to attend the “One Forest Summit” seeking to preserve forests along the vast Congo River basin. He will then head to Angola. After the Republic of Congo, he will wind up his trip in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo on March 3-4.
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Macron has insisted Africa is a priority of his second mandate at the helm of France and in July last year undertook a trip to Cameroon, Benin, and Guinea-Bissau. A number of countries in Africa refused to take a position on the Russian offensive in Ukraine. Countries including India and China also refused to get drawn into the controversy.
