Egypt’s Al-Sisi calls for end to African debt cycle as Macron unveils €23bn investment in Nairobi

“Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi warned that a large number of African nations now spend more on debt service than on health and education combined, urging an immediate reform of the international financial architecture to break the “vicious cycle of the sovereign debt dilemma.” Speaking at the Africa-France summit in Nairobi, Al-Sisi’s demands for equitable financial structures were echoed by African leaders seeking easier credit access, prompting French President Emmanuel Macron to announce €23bn ($27bn) in mutual investments and support for a mechanism to de-risk lending on the continent. “There is no development without peace… and no peace without development,” Al-Sisi told summit attendees. He stated that growing geopolitical tensions, including those in the Middle East, are severely disrupting global supply chains and food and energy security. This places a heavier burden on African countries attempting to achieve development goals while maintaining fiscal discipline, Al-Sisi said, advocating for new mechanisms such as debt-for-development swaps and the expansion of green bonds. Addressing the gathering—which included Kenyan President William Ruto, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf—Macron framed the relationship as a “partnership of equals.” The French president outlined €14bn ($16.4bn) of investments in public and private funds from French companies, alongside €9bn ($10.5bn) from African firms. The funds will target the energy transition, agriculture, and artificial intelligence (AI), and are expected to create 250,000 jobs in France and Africa. “We are not simply here to come and invest on the African continent alongside you – we need great African business leaders to come and invest in France,” Macron told heads of state from more than 30 African nations during the two-day summit, France’s first in an English-speaking African country. During the second day of the summit on Tuesday, African leaders pressed for reforms to lower borrowing costs, arguing that lenders hold an unduly high perception of risk that makes credit prohibitively expensive. Macron supported creating a first-loss guarantee mechanism to de-risk investments, a proposal he pledged to lobby for at the G7 summit next month. “The issue … is not liquidity. It is risk architecture,” Ruto said in his remarks to the summit. Al-Sisi also highlighted the necessity of supporting nascent African industries, building the capacity of African youth, and activating the African Continental Free Trade Area by bolstering intra-African supply chains. He noted that despite regional crises, Egypt has continued its economic reform programme by tightening monetary and fiscal policies and developing its transport and logistics infrastructure to serve as a gateway to the African continent. The post Egypt’s Al-Sisi calls for end to African debt cycle as Macron unveils €23bn investment in Nairobi first appeared on Dailynewsegypt .

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