Scenes from the official opening of the Africa Forward Summit, attended by President El-Sisi... Photos

Special Report: Nairobi

Events took place this morning Opening The official Africa Forward Summit, held in Nairobi (May 11-12, 2026), where this landmark event brings together more than 2,000 delegates, including 30 heads of state, dozens of startups, and top executives of multinational corporations, to establish an “investment-based partnership for innovation and growth.”.

President Sisi is in attendance

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Kenyan President William Ruto were among those in attendance.

Hakainde Hichilema, President of the Republic of Zambia, said that he participated this morning in the official opening of the Africa Forward Summit, in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

According to the president, the summit seeks to redefine the relationship between Africa, France, and the wider international community by reaffirming Africa’s place in the world. The transition must be from dependence on aid to building balanced partnerships that contribute to unleashing the continent’s enormous potential.

Africa must be able to finance itself.

Now more than ever, Africa must harness its local wealth to drive sustainable development across the continent, and the continent must be able to finance itself and develop basic infrastructure – such as roads and logistics corridors – using its local resources, noting that Africa will only develop at the hands of its own people.

The leaders participating in the Africa-France summit, hosted by the Kenyan capital, began arriving on Tuesday morning. NairobiWith broad participation from African heads of state and government, along with French President Emmanuel Macron, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Chairperson of the African Union, and a number of leaders of international financial institutions and development partners.