Paris, May 30: President Nicolas Sarkozy holds his first Africa summit this week hoping to convince the continents leaders that France is looking for a fresh start with Africa.
The French president will be hosting 38 African leaders from Cairo to Cape Town in the French city of Nice for a gathering dubbed a “summit of renewal” to restore France’s ties with the continent.
The 25th annual Africa-France summit which will be held on Monday and Tuesday covers agendas including peace and security, climate and development and Africa’s place on the world stage.
Unlike his predecessor Jacques Chirac, who was known for his personal relationships with French-speaking West African leaders, Sarkozy has preferred to engage with the continent as a whole.
“France has made a clear break with its old ways and now has ties with everybody in Africa,” an Elysee official said.
Despite the fierce efforts to represent France’s changed ties with African countries, having taken office in 2007, Sarkozy managed to offend African leaders and intellectuals on his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa with a speech widely seen as riddled with stereotypes and prejudices.
“The tragedy of Africa is that the African has not fully entered into history,” Sarkozy said in the speech at Dakar University. He argued that Africans had missed out on “progress.”
The Nice summit coincides with the 50th anniversary of the independence of 14 former colonies, which is being celebrated in several countries, but Sarkozy has not attended any of the events.
——Agencies