President El-Sisi Participates in Opening Session of Africa-France Summit in Kenya

alhadath – cairo

President El-Sisi’s Speech at the Africa-France Summit Working Session in Kenya
Tuesday, 12 May 2026

“In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful”

Your Excellency, President Ruto,

Your Excellency, President Macron,

Heads of State and Government,

Representatives of International and Regional Financial Institutions,

Honorable Guests,

I would to like to begin by extending my sincere appreciation for the government and people of the Republic of Kenya for their warm welcome and generous hospitality. I would also like to express my appreciation to His Excellency President Ruto, and His Excellency President Macron, for initiating this important summit.

I have listened to your valuable remarks, which form the basis for reforming the global financial architecture, while taking into account the concerns of developing countries and meeting the aspirations of their people to achieve targeted development.

Ladies and gentlemen,

“There is no development without peace and no peace without development.” It is obvious that the growing geopolitical tensions, including in the Middle East, have repercussions that undermine the stability of international supply chains and negatively impact energy and food security, even more severely impacting our African nations, which are striving to achieve development goals for their people, while seeking to maintain fiscal discipline and curb their debt levels.

Distinguished guests

The turbulent global economic scene, declining development assistance flows, increasing conditionality, and the repercussions of climate change make reforming the international financial architecture an imperative for achieving peace and development. This requires adopting a comprehensive vision that addresses the dilemma of development financing by enhancing the effectiveness of financing mechanisms and developing new ones, such as debt-for-development swaps and expanding the issuance of green bonds to implement environmentally friendly projects. This is in addition to developing multilateral banking policies and mobilizing funding from public and private sources.

In this context, I must note the necessity of breaking the vicious cycle of the sovereign debt crisis, especially in African countries, many of which now spend more on debt servicing than on health and education combined.

Ladies and gentlemen,

In the pursuit of our countries’ development goals, it is crucial to encourage exports from developing countries to foreign markets and support the growth of nascent industries in Africa. Cooperation is equally essential to support the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement by reinforcing supply chains among African countries and building the capacities and skills of African youth.

Distinguished guests,

In spite of the successive regional and international crises, Egypt has sustained its ambitious economic reform program through a comprehensive package of measures to regulate fiscal and monetary policies, develop the legislative environment, and provide attractive investment incentives. This is in tandem with developing its infrastructure, including roads, communications, transportation, and logistics. This makes Egypt a gateway to the African continent, with all the promising opportunities and potential this young continent holds for the future. We look forward to enhancing cooperation with France and all international and regional partners to continue economic and social development programs in Egypt and African countries.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Addressing the turbulent global economic situation requires our concerted efforts to strengthen global economic governance and create a significant shift in the development of its institutions. This will enable us to find equitable solutions to existing challenges that fulfill the aspirations of our peoplesand achieve the targeted development.