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Macron Demands Greater African Voice at UN, G20, IMF
(MENAFN) French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday made a sweeping push for expanded African influence across the world's most powerful institutions, framing the continent as an indispensable partner rather than a peripheral player in global affairs.
"Africa must be better represented in international institutions, at the United Nations Security Council, in global financial institutions, as well as in the G20, where we supported its integration," Macron said during the opening session of the Africa Forward summit.
The French president cast the gathering as a turning point in France-Africa ties, urging both sides to shed the weight of historical baggage in favor of a forward-driven agenda.
"The agenda that Africa and France ... should not look to the past, but straight ahead," he said.
Macron acknowledged that France's approach over the preceding decade had sought to reconcile historical reckoning with practical cooperation across culture, sports, education, and economic development — but signaled that the next chapter must look beyond aid dependency toward investment-led partnership.
He outlined priority sectors for future co-investment, citing artificial intelligence, health, agriculture, energy, and industry as the cornerstones of a modernized bilateral relationship. Africa, he stressed, must be regarded as a "true partner" — not merely a reservoir of raw materials.
Underpinning the summit's ambitions, Macron pointed to €23 billion — nearly $25.2 billion — in investment pledges tied to the event, drawing on contributions from both French and African companies.
He also flagged the need for fiscal policy reforms and stronger mobilization of multilateral lenders, specifically the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, as prerequisites for sustainable development across the continent.
Closing on an optimistic note, Macron described Africa — the world's youngest continent by population — as already a "force of the present" and not merely a promise for the future.
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