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Top SA delegates at France-Africa summit

Maropene Ramokgopa to represent Pretoria in Nairobi summit alongside business delegation

2 min read
French President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace in Paris, France, on April 8 2026. Picture: REUTERS
French President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace in Paris, France, on April 8 2026. Picture: REUTERSPicture: Tom Nicholson

SA has send a top delegation to the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi this week as France presses for concrete economic outcomes that will reset the country’s relationship with a continent where its influence has eroded sharply in recent years.

Though President Cyril Ramaphosa has opted out, his minister in the presidency Maropene Ramokgopa, is leading a high-powered business delegation representing Pretoria.

Minister in the presidency Maropene Ramokgopa leads a high-powered business delegation at the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi this week instead of President Cyril Ramaphosa. Picture: BUSINESS DAY
BUSINESS MINDS: Minister in the presidency Maropene Ramokgopa leads a high-powered business delegation at the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi this week instead of President Cyril Ramaphosa. Picture: BUSINESS DAYPicture: Freddy Mavunda

The two-day event opened on Monday with a business forum designed to produce signed investment deals before the official summit on Tuesday.

SA businesses billed to participate in the forum include Eskom, Aspen Pharmacare and vaccine manufacturer Biovac.

“We anticipate deals to be announced on a large scale,” a senior adviser to the French presidency said. “French firms are mostly investing, creating partnerships with African actors.

“So there will be announcements of different sectors, because our companies have a strong value offer.”

French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to close the forum with an aggregated announcement of economic commitments spanning sports, culture and technology.

President Cyril Ramaphosa welcomes French President Emmanuel Macron for the G20 summit in Johannesburg, in this November 22 2025 file photo. Picture: REUTERS
President Cyril Ramaphosa welcomes French President Emmanuel Macron for the G20 summit in Johannesburg, in this November 22 2025 file photo. Picture: REUTERSPicture: Halden Krog

For SA, the summit arrives at a moment of notably warm bilateral ties with Paris, with French ambassador to SA David Martinon recently publicly backing Pretoria’s right to attend the G20 summit in the US as a fully fledged member.

This is France’s first Africa-France summit in an English-speaking African country, marking a break from a format that since 1973 alternated between France and Francophone African nations.

Tuesday’s summit is expected to draw about 30 African heads of state. The agenda centres on improving access to capital for investors and entrepreneurs, with the heads of the IMF, African Development Bank and World Bank all attending.

There will also be sessions on peace and security financing, and afternoon roundtables covering agriculture, health, the blue economy and AI.

Discussions will centre on topics including how to stimulate investments and how to improve the financing of African economies using digital banks, private banks, public banks, and national and regional African banks. — Business Day