The 27th Africa-France Summit closed Saturday in Bamako, Mali, with participants adopting a global plan to fight terrorism and other forms of violence.
At the end of the summit, French President Francois Hollande and his Malian counterpart Ibrahim Boubacar Keita held a joint press conference during which they talked about the issues the 35 heads of state and government discussed during this one-day summit.
Hollande first congratulated “Mali for the success of this Africa-France summit,” while during the summit, questions were raised about why Mali still faces severe terrorist threats in the north.
“The threat is global, that’s why a global plan was adopted, which puts every African country to face its own responsibilities,” Hollande told the press, reiterating “the accompaniment of France to Africa to ensure its own security.”
“For the emergence of Africa, development projects will be financed up to 23 billion euros by French Agency of Development (Agence Francaise de Developpement) in the coming 5 years,” he said.
Asked about the presence of French anti-terrorist operation in northern Mali and in the Sahel, Hollande said “we are here in Mali in the framework of international cooperation” and “at the request of the Malian government and president at that time in 2013.”
“We have nothing to hide, we just want to serve a cause. I will not allow any stain on the operation of France in Mali,” Hollande stressed.
“The French force will stay in Mali and Africa as long as the countries decide it should,” the French head of state said.
The 27th Summit Africa-France opened this Saturday morning with the theme “Partnership, Peace and Emergence.”
For the Malian president, “(economic) growth is quite strong in Africa, but it is fragile.”
The President of Mali hoped for “more sustained economic growth” and “welcomed the leadership of African youth and their spirit of partnership” to generate strong growth across the continent.
According to Hollande and Keita, Libya and The Gambia were also at the centre of the discussions.
First held in France in 1973, the Africa-France Summit aims to maintain and boost relations between France and Africa. This is the last Africa-France Summit for Francois Hollande as French president.
Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK