President Bola Tinubu and Kenyan President William Ruto held talks in Nairobi on Tuesday as African leaders intensified calls for reforms to global credit systems and stronger investment partnerships during the ongoing Africa Forward Summit co-hosted by Emmanuel Macron and Kenya.
The summit brought together more than 30 African heads of state, top executives of multilateral financial institutions, global investors and development partners to discuss economic reforms, climate financing, industrialisation, digital transformation and sustainable development across the continent.
A major focus of discussions on the second day of the summit was Africa’s push for easier and more affordable access to international credit to support infrastructure development, industrial expansion and economic growth.
Speaking at the summit, Ruto argued that African countries continue to face unfairly high borrowing costs due to what leaders described as exaggerated risk perceptions among global lenders.
“The issue is not liquidity; it is risk architecture,” Ruto said while advocating reforms that would reduce investment risks and improve financing opportunities for African economies.
The campaign for financial reforms received a boost after Macron expressed support for the creation of a first-loss guarantee mechanism aimed at de-risking investments in Africa. The French leader said he would push for the proposal during the upcoming G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France.
At Macron’s invitation, Ruto is expected to attend the G7 summit as African leaders seek broader international backing for reforms to global lending structures.
France is using the Nairobi summit to strengthen economic and diplomatic partnerships across Africa amid declining influence in some of its former West African colonies. Macron disclosed that the summit had already mobilised about €23 billion in investments targeted at Africa.
President Tinubu was among the African leaders who participated in the high-level engagements in Nairobi. Photographs shared by presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, showed Tinubu exchanging greetings with Ruto upon arrival at the summit venue.
Nigeria also used the summit to advance its maritime investment drive, with the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, presenting the Federal Government’s reforms in the sector.
Oyetola spoke during a panel session titled “Blue Economy, Maritime Sovereignty and Sustainable Valourisation,” alongside France’s Minister of the Sea and Fisheries, Catherine Chabaud, and other maritime stakeholders.
According to a statement by Oyetola’s Special Adviser, Dr Bolaji Akinola, the minister highlighted the establishment of the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy in August 2023 as a major step towards strengthening policy coordination and accelerating growth in the maritime sector.
The minister also outlined ongoing efforts by the Federal Government to develop Nigeria’s first National Policy on Marine and Blue Economy, which is expected to provide a strategic framework for sustainable investment and sectoral expansion.
He further disclosed that agencies under the ministry generated a record N1.83 trillion in revenue during the 2025 fiscal year, reflecting increased economic activity within Nigeria’s maritime industry.
