President William Ruto has activated state resources to ensure full attendance at this week’s Africa Forward Summit, with Kenya reportedly facilitating travel for several delegations. While State House has not released a full manifest, multiple heads of state have already jetted in for the forum co-hosted with French President Emmanuel Macron at KICC and the University of Nairobi.
A jet frequently used by President Ruto was dispatched in the early hours of Monday at 3:20 am to Madagascar to transport the country’s junta leader to Nairobi ahead of the Africa Forward Summit.
Flight tracking data shows the Embraer ERJ-135BJ Legacy 650, registration T7-JET, departing toward the Indian Ocean island before landing at Ivato International Airport in Antananarivo.
The aircraft was sent to pick up Colonel Michael Randrianirina, who seized power in October following youth-led protests that forced former president Andry Rajoelina from office.
His arrival in Nairobi marks one of the first appearances by a leader from Africa’s recent wave of coup-installed regimes at a major high-level regional summit without electoral legitimisation.
Upon landing at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Randrianirina was received by Ali Hassan Joho, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs.
The visit could also signal a quiet diplomatic opening between Madagascar’s junta administration and France, following months of strained relations between Antananarivo and Paris.
In April, Madagascar expelled a French diplomat after accusing Paris of involvement in destabilisation activities, allegations the French government firmly denied.
France maintains close historical ties with Madagascar, its former colony, and is closely watching developments on the island as President Emmanuel Macron continues diplomatic engagements across Africa.
Former president Rajoelina fled Madagascar with French assistance after escalating protests linked to worsening water and electricity shortages destabilised his administration.
Until now, Nairobi had largely avoided extending high-profile invitations to leaders who assumed power through unconstitutional transitions, making Randrianirina’s attendance diplomatically significant.
The summit itself marks a geopolitical shift. It’s the first France-Africa Summit held outside France and in a non-Francophone country, signaling Paris’ pivot toward Anglophone Africa after troop withdrawals from Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Senegal. Kenya, which signed a defence cooperation deal with France last year, is positioning itself as the new anchor for mutually beneficial Africa-France ties.
On the agenda: seven themes are driving the talks — energy transition and green industrialization, reform of the global financial system, blue economy, sustainable agriculture, AI and digital technology, resilient health systems, and peace and security.
