In his first state visit to Africa, President Emmanuel Macron is on a three-nation tour of western African states, of Cameroon, Benin, and Guinea-Bissau. from July 25- 28.
In his first state visit to Africa, President Emmanuel Macron is on a three-nation tour of western African states, Cameroon, Benin and Guinea-Bissau. from July 25- 28.
The visit according to political experts is part of the French efforts to reboot France’s post-colonial relationship with the continent. The agenda of the visit include the food crisis especially of grain induced by the Ukraine war, security issues in the light of the French military pull out from Mali, fears of Islamist insurgencies and so on. Macron who won a new term in April had pledged that a new relationship between France and Africa will be a political priority of his Presidency. During his first term, he visited non-francophone African countries including regional powerhouses Nigeria and South Africa in a bid to engage with the continent beyond the former French colonies.
Meanwhile, France, analysts say is also worried about the emergence of other powers like China, Turkey and Russia who are seeking to exert their influence in the region that Paris considers as part of its backyard,
In Cameroon, a country swayed by ethnic violence and an insurgency, Macron will meet President Paul Biya, who has ruled the country for almost 4 decades. After his visit to Cameroon, he will visit Benin, a multi-party democracy, that has faced deadly attacks, with the jihadist threat now spreading from the Sahel to Gulf of Guinea nations. His West African tour will conclude with a visit to Guinea-Bissau which has been torn by political crisis and has just taken over the helm of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Also read;
https://trendsnafrica.com/mali-to-break-off-from-defence-accords-with-france/
https://trendsnafrica.com/frances-new-africa-policy/
https://trendsnafrica.com/france-vows-to-wind-down-its-counterinsurgency-operation-in-sahel-region/
