The Nigerian President Tinubu began his three-day state visit to France on Thursday in a bid to strengthen the bilateral relations between the two countries.
The visit is symbolic to Nigeria’s leadership as it marks the first appearance of a sitting president at Champs-Élysées in two decades.
Paris is seeking to renew its ties with Africa, especially the English-speaking countries. France has seen its influence diminish in the French-speaking countries following the coups that took place in the Sahel countries.
France is seeking to strengthen economic ties with Africa, as the visit sets up the two presidents for meetings at the “Franco-Nigerian Business Council” forum.
The forum was meant to boost the economic cooperation and investments between the two countries.
Tinubu is graced with some of the highest-ranking officials in his government including popular business moguls like Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote.
Ties between France and the continent are beginning to falter after Niger’s military junta banned the French aid group Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development, or Acted, from working in the country in mid-November.
The Ministry of the Interior signed a decree withdrawing the nonprofit organization’s license to operate, without providing reasons for the decision.
Niger had been the West’s last reliable partner in the region in battling jihadists linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group.
President Macron last visited Nigeria in 2018 during the tenure of the then President Buhari. The visit to Nigeria then marked a return to familiar territory for Macron. He spent six months in Abuja as an intern at the French embassy in 2002.
Franca has been seen to be courting the English-speaking regions and countries in Africa to replace the French countries after his fallout with some of them like the Sahel countries. Macron visited several countries in Africa including Kenya and Ethiopia in 2019, South Africa in 2021, and Nigeria in 2018.
According to the latest data, Nigeria is the leading trading partner for France in Africa followed by South Africa.
Additional sources • AP
