French President Emmanuel Macron hosted a working dinner at the Élysée Palace on Sunday with Baïdy Agne, President of Senegal’s National Employers’ Council (CNP) and Business Africa, alongside Romuald Wadagni of Benin, to accelerate private investment and industrialization across Africa.
Following up on momentum from the Africa-France “Africa Forward” summit held in Nairobi in May 2026, the high-level meeting focused on transitioning high-level summit commitments into operational, cross-border commercial ventures and strengthening value chains to foster localized wealth creation.
Deliberations centered on expanding participation from both African and French private investors, with a specific focus on Benin’s openness to strategic foreign capital and international public-private partnerships. Participants also addressed the long-term sustainability of the “Africa Forward Coalition” as a permanent framework to drive youth-centered employment and support key economic sectors. By targeting investments in strategic industrial value chains, the discussions aimed to solidify bilateral economic integration and establish durable mechanisms for sustainable continental development.
TE/Sf/lb/abj/APA