President Macron described Djibouti, the last colony to gain independence from France -- in 1977 -- as a "historical partner and strategic ally", and "the point of entry" to the Horn of Africa region. "I would not want international investments to weaken the sovereignty of our partners," Mr Macron said Tuesday, in a reference to China's growing African presence. ETHIOPIA'S CASELater Tuesday, Mr Macron visited the remote Ethiopian town of Lalibela with its renowned 13th-century church complex, a Unesco World Heritage site. On Wednesday, he will meet leaders of the African Union before making the first-ever trip to Kenya by a French president. Rwanda meanwhile has invited Macron to attend the 25th anniversary of the country's 1994 genocide that killed some 800,000 of its citizens.

Source: Daily Nation March 12, 2019 17:05 UTC