President Emmanuel Macron of France kicked off Monday a four-day tour in Eastern Africa with the first leg in Djibouti followed by Ethiopia and Kenya where the French leader will co-chair UN-sponsored One Planet Summit. The trip to Djibouti, a French former colony, is the first in a decade by a French President after Sarkozy in 2007. During the 12-hour stop in Djibouti, Macron will sign economic and military agreements to bolster France’s presence alongside US and Chinese military presence. The French leader will wrap up his Ethiopian tour with a visit to Ethiopia’s France-trained first female President Sahle-Work Zewde. The visit on Wednesday to Kenya, the last leg of his African tour, will be the first by a French President to the eastern country.

Source: The North Africa Journal March 12, 2019 10:07 UTC