Follow CGSP on Social Media

Listen to the CGSP Podcast

So, What Exactly Did Emmanuel Macron Accomplish With His African Finance Summit? Nothing Substantive.

by Eric Olander
French President Emmanuel Macron (C) greets Ethiopia's President Sahle-Work Zewde (L) and Senegal's President Macky Sall (R) before the opening session of the Summit on the Financing of African Economies on May 18, 2021 in Paris. Ludovic MARIN / POOL / AFP

The day-long Summit on the Financing of African Economies wrapped up in Paris on Tuesday and left a lot of people scratching their heads wondering what exactly was the purpose of the gathering.

Unlike Monday’s event that focused on Sudanese debt relief and featured host Emmanuel Macron unveiling a series of concrete measures, including the cancellation of $5 billion of loans that Khartoum owes Paris and a $1.5 billion loan for Sudan to repay its obligations to the IMF,  the final communiqué for Tuesday’s summit was non-committal and vague.

  • Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis.
  • Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations.
  • Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in Africa and throughout the Global South.

China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening.

Subscribe today for unlimited access.

OR

Already a subscriber? Log in Click Here to Learn More

You Might Like

Macron’s Africa Summit is a Good Start, But Nowhere Near Good Enough

One by one, French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday greeted a stream of Africa’s most powerful leaders to the Elysée Palace in Paris with a mix of COVID-friendly fist bumps, elbow jabs, and ...

China: Between Opening up Its Financial Sector and Holding on to Its Key Economic Sectors

Until recently, foreign companies had been restricted from autonomously and freely operating in the Chinese market due to the strict requirement by China’s government for full Chinese ownership and leadership in the country’s key economic ...

African Debt: At Some Point, the Hole Becomes Just Too Big to Fill

The rapidly deteriorating financial crisis in Lebanon provides a grim preview to other developing countries of what happens when the bottom falls out of an economy. After the government defaulted ...

What is The China-Africa Project?

Independent

The CAP is passionately independent, non-partisan and does not advocate for any country, company or culture.

News

A carefully curated selection of the day’s most important China-Africa stories. Updated 24 hours a day by human editors. No bots, no algorithms.

Analysis

Diverse, often unconventional insights from scholars, analysts, journalist and a variety of stakeholders in the China-Africa discourse.

Networking

A unique professional network of China-Africa scholars, analysts, journalists and other practioners from around the world.

Subscribe