Kenya will host the Africa Forward Summit, collaborating with France, convening on May 11-12, 2026, marking a historic moment in France-African relations under the theme “Africa France Partnership for Innovation and Growth.”
This summit will mark a reset of Paris’s engagement, shifting from traditional narratives to a forward –looking partnership Ambassador Arnaud Suquet said. He was speaking during a joint editors’ briefing alongside Foreign Affairs PS Korir Sing’Oei.
The two-day Africa Forward Summit will feature Business Forum that covers blue economy, green industrialization, financing, agriculture, digital transformation and artificial intelligence. It is a summit that will bring together African and European priorities.
The summit marks first meeting with an Anglophone African nation, signaling a deliberate shift in Paris’s engagement strategy PS Sing’Oei said, as it will make efforts to broaden beyond traditional Francophone spheres.
Over the past decade France has invested billions of euros in Kenya, becoming one of the country’s leading private investors and key partner in sectors such as renewable energy.
Both Suquet and Sing’Oei emphasized that the summit will prioritise tangible outcomes with structured engagements across civil society, political leaders and businesses, impacting high-level discussions among heads of state.
The summit will produce a joint outline of commitments to green energy youth employment and digital entrepreneurship, positioning Nairobi as a hub for continental dialogue and cooperation.