At least 60 delegations and 35 heads of state including the President of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe attended the official opening of the 27th Africa-France Summit which was officially opened with calls for the African continent to be vigilant in protecting its citizens against the threat of terrorism without waiting for outside interventions.
President Mugabe joined other 34 heads of state from the continent at the Bamako International Conference Centre (BICC) in Bamako Mali for the two day summit which was officially opened today (Saturday).
French president Francois Hollande who co-chaired the official opening session with his Malian counterpart president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita said African forces must combat terrorism without being dependent on outside interventions and France is available to provide support.
The host president Ibrahim Keita acknowledged that the peace agreement signed with the Touareg rebels has not yet been fully implemented but he thanked Africa and France for their efforts to end terrorism in the Sahel region.
He also paid tribute to the leaders for attending the summit saying their participation is crucial.
African Union chairperson Mr Idriss Deby who is also the president of Chad said the new year is full of promise and hope and the theme for the summit ‘Partnership, Peace and Emergence’ and the topics that the leaders will discuss are a reflection of the relationship between France and Africa
After the official opening the heads of state went into a closed door session where they are expected to come up with the Bamako declaration.
Meanwhile, France has committed to release at least four billion euros per annum to Africa to honour the agreement signed at the Paris 2013 Summit where the European Union country committed US$20 billion towards development projects in Africa.
This was revealed by Mumbengegwi who attended the foreign affairs ministerial meeting which was held as a precursor to the 27th Africa-France Summit.
Ministers of Foreign Affairs from the continent and officials from the French government attended a preparatory meeting where they came up with a draft resolution to be adopted by the heads of state at the end of the summit.
Mumbengegwi said two pertinent issues came under the spotlight, that is peace and security and partnership and development between Africa and France
France has also pledged to support French companies that wish to invest in Africa under a social development assistance fund.
Since the 2012 crisis in Mali, the list of French military interventions in the Sahel region has grown steadily and the foreign affairs ministers meeting also looked at issues to do with peace and security says Cde Mumbengegwi. Â
There is generally peace in Bamako but security has been beefed up with some 10 000 security personnel on hand to protect the 3 000 delegates and heads of state who are attending the summit. – State Media