NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Calls for mutual respect dominated the Africa Forward Summit on Tuesday as French President Emmanuel Macron announced new investments and said sovereignty will be key in the new partnership that France hopes to build with Africa.
Investments worth 23 billion euros ($27 billion) will fund various sectors in Africa including, energy, AI and agriculture, Macron said, adding that 14 billion euros ($16.4 billion) will come from French companies and 9 billion euros ($10.5 billion) from African entities.
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Heads of state and government representatives attend the Africa Forward Summit at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre in Nairobi, Kenya, Tuesday, May 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
France's President Emmanuel Macron attends the Africa Forward Summit at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre in Nairobi, Kenya, Tuesday, May 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed Ali attends the Africa Forward Summit at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre in Nairobi, Kenya, Tuesday, May 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
France's President Emmanuel Macron attends the Africa Forward Summit at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre in Nairobi, Kenya, Tuesday, May 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Macron said the summit marks a financial shift in relationships between the European nation and African countries, including those that once were its colonies.
President William Ruto of Kenya, which is co-hosting the summit with France, referred to sovereignty eight times in his speech on the summit's final day. He reiterated that the days of European dependency were over for Africa in favor of mutual respect between cooperating nations.
New partnerships between the African nations and France “must not be built on dependency but on sovereign equality, not on aid or charity but on mutually beneficial investment, and not on extraction or exploitation but on win-win engagements," Ruto said.
The event, which is set to close Tuesday with a declaration that is expected to be signed by all 30 heads of state and government, comes at the height of a fallout between France and its former colonies, mostly in West Africa.
France has long maintained a colonial policy of economic, political and military sway dubbed Françafrique, which included keeping thousands of troops in the region it controlled.
After years of criticism from leaders and opposition parties in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso over what they described as a demeaning and heavy-handed approach, France has withdrawn most of those troops. It completed the withdrawal of troops from Senegal in July.
Macron said Paris will be respectful of each African country's independence, adding that “sovereignty and autonomy is shared, and your success is our success.”
France’s new strategy, according to Macron, is based on a shared agenda and the “days of offering assistance are behind us.”
“I’d like to focus on co-investment,” he said.
Macron hailed a strong show of unity from the African heads of state and governments as “an image of a united continent with a shared agenda.”
Heads of state and government representatives attend the Africa Forward Summit at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre in Nairobi, Kenya, Tuesday, May 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
France's President Emmanuel Macron attends the Africa Forward Summit at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre in Nairobi, Kenya, Tuesday, May 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed Ali attends the Africa Forward Summit at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre in Nairobi, Kenya, Tuesday, May 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
France's President Emmanuel Macron attends the Africa Forward Summit at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre in Nairobi, Kenya, Tuesday, May 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
LONDON (AP) — U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer told members of his Cabinet on Tuesday that he has no intention of resigning as calls grew louder within his Labour Party for him to step down.
Starmer tried to shore up support within his Cabinet following a febrile few days in the wake of hefty losses for the Labour Party in local elections last week, which if repeated in a national election would see it overwhelmingly ejected from power.
Several junior ministers stepped down from their government posts Tuesday, calling for a change in leadership, though no candidate had yet come forward to challenge Starmer directly. The resignations stoked speculation that Starmer could suffer the fate of Boris Johnson in 2022 when dozens of ministers quit en masse and forced him to quit.
Around 80 Labour lawmakers have now said Starmer should stand down or at least set out a timetable for his departure, but that’s not enough to trigger a leadership contest. Under Labour party rules, a fifth of its lawmakers in the House of Commons, or 81 members, must publicly give their backing to a single candidate, and that hasn’t happened yet.
On Tuesday, Miatta Fahnbulleh, minister of housing, communities and local government, became the first member of his government to step down, urging Starmer “to do the right thing for the country” and set a timetable for his departure.
She was followed by Jess Phillips, the safeguarding minister, whose resignation letter called Starmer a “good man fundamentally” but vented about his inability to make bold changes.
“I know you care deeply, but deeds, not words are what matter,” Phillips said. “I’m not sure we are grasping this rare opportunity with the gusto that’s needed and I cannot keep waiting around for a crisis to push for faster progress.”
Despite winning a landslide election victory in July 2024, Labour’s popularity has sunk and Starmer is getting much of the blame.
The reasons are varied, including a series of policy missteps, a perceived lack of vision, a struggling British economy and questions over his judgment — especially over his appointment of Peter Mandelson as U.K. ambassador to Washington despite the envoy’s ties to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
At the start of the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Starmer said he took responsibility for the losses in last week’s local elections across the U.K. but that he would fight on.
Labour was squeezed from right and left, losing votes to both anti-immigrant Reform UK and the Green Party, as well as nationalist parties in Scotland and Wales. The result reflects the increasing fragmentation of U.K. politics, long dominated by Labour and the Conservatives.
Starmer said that there’s a process to oust a leader and that it hadn't been triggered.
“The country expects us to get on with governing,” Starmer said. “The past 48 hours have been destabilizing for government and that has a real economic cost for our country and for families.”
That cost was evident in financial markets on Tuesday, with the interest rate charged on British government bonds up by more than those of comparable nations. That shows that investors are putting a higher price on taking on government debt.
As Cabinet ministers left 10 Downing Street, some voiced their support for the embattled prime minister.
Works and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said nobody publicly challenged Starmer at the meeting, while Business Secretary Peter Kyle said the prime minister was showing “really steadfast leadership.”
Health Secretary Wes Streeting, long believed to be preparing for a leadership challenge against Starmer, was among senior ministers who dodged a barrage of shouted questions from a gaggle of reporters outside.
“Wes Streeting, do you want the job, or not?” a man yelled from across the street. “Are you measuring the curtains?”
The next U.K. national election doesn’t have to be held until 2029, but British politics allows parties to change leader midterm without the need for a general election.
Starmer had hoped to regain momentum with a speech on Monday and an ambitious set of legislative plans to be set out by King Charles III at the State Opening of Parliament on Wednesday.
Danica Kirka and Sylvia Hui in London contributed to this report.
A bookmaker takes bets for a possible next British Prime Minister on his betting board near Downing Street in London, Tuesday, May 12, 2026.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Larry the cat, Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office leaves 10 Downing Street during a cabinet meeting in London, Tuesday, May 12, 2026 as Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing the biggest threat yet to his authority after a growing number of disaffected lawmakers called for him to step down.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Larry the cat, Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office leaves 10 Downing Street during a cabinet meeting in London, Tuesday, May 12, 2026 as Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing the biggest threat yet to his authority after a growing number of disaffected lawmakers called for him to step down.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens arrives for a cabinet meeting in Downing Street, London, Tuesday, May 12, 2026 as Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing the biggest threat yet to his authority after a growing number of disaffected lawmakers called for him to step down.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Wes Streeting arrives for a cabinet meeting in Downing Street, London, Tuesday, May 12, 2026 as Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing the biggest threat yet to his authority after a growing number of disaffected lawmakers called for him to step down.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Ed Miliband arrives for a cabinet meeting in Downing Street, London, Tuesday, May 12, 2026 as Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing the biggest threat yet to his authority after a growing number of disaffected lawmakers called for him to step down.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaking to the media after meeting Labour Party members during a visit to AFC Wimbledon in south London, Saturday May 9, 2026. (Maja Smiejkowska/PA via AP)
Britain's Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer pauses as he delivers a speech, at the Coin Street Neighbourhood Centre in Waterloo, London, Monday May 11, 2026. (James Manning/PA via AP)
