African leaders call for a "privileged partnership" with Europe

Tunisian Prime Minister and Benin President are praising the qualities of their countries to encourage French CEOs, gathered at the national confederation of French employers' annual meeting in Paris, to invest in Africa.

Najla Bouden, Tunisian Prime Minister, called for more investment during her speech at the Meeting

"Europe would benefit from betting on Africa now through ESG (environmental, social and governance criteria, Eds.) which are attracting more and more international liquidity, especially since the pandemic, with 26 billion dollars dedicated to renewable energy alone in 2021. But also, Europe would benefit from focusing on project financing in a PPP (public-private partnership, Eds.) format that facilitates economic diversification and supports the continent's priorities. "

Beninese President Patrice Talon, a former company director himself, took the opportunity to praise Benin's development model and assets for foreign investors.

"We have set up a special economic zone in which, unfortunately, there are still not many French people, but there are many Asians, unfortunately, because I am in France and I say that, unfortunately (laughter). We expect that, once again, Asia will not overtake France in this area."

I have a special, somewhat emotional attachment to France, and I expect French entrepreneurs to come and see for themselves what is going on and take the risk of coming to do something, however small it may be to begin with."

France is the third trading partner of Benin, behind India and China.

In the presence of French CEOs, the two African leaders praised the merits of their countries, each in their own way. Patrice Talon highlighted the ban on strikes in the Beninese public sector and its limitation to two days per month in the private sector.