France lands $1 billion Kenya deals as it signals major African return amid Sahel setbacks
France has signed more than $1 billion worth of agreements with Kenya as President Emmanuel Macron seeks to deepen ties in East Africa while Paris faces declining influence across parts of the Sahel and Francophone West Africa.
Black News 
France has signed more than $1 billion worth of agreements with Kenya as President Emmanuel Macron seeks to deepen ties in East Africa while Paris faces declining influence across parts of the Sahel and Francophone West Africa.
- France has signed agreements worth over $1 billion with Kenya to deepen bilateral ties.
- The deals encompass 11 cooperation instruments focusing on transport, infrastructure, maritime affairs, and economic development.
- A significant part of the agreements targets modernising Nairobi’s commuter rail system and expanding urban mobility.
- The countries also signed a Declaration of Intent to collaborate on blue economy development and sustainable coastal growth.
The agreements were signed on Sunday, May 10, during bilateral engagements at State House Nairobi shortly after Macron’s arrival in the Kenyan capital.
According to Kenya’s Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi, the two countries concluded 11 cooperation instruments covering transport, infrastructure, maritime affairs, and economic development.
“Tonight, the moment President Macron landed, we went straight to State House and had bilateral engagements with France. We have signed 11 instruments, all critical, and in total, it comes to over 1 billion USD worth of programs and commitments,” Mudavadi said in remarks aired by Citizen TV Kenya.
Nairobi rail expansion at the centre of infrastructure push
A major component of the agreements focuses on modernising Nairobi’s commuter rail system.
Kenya plans to expand commuter Line 5 toward Embakasi and Ruiru as part of a wider urban mobility strategy aimed at reducing congestion and improving public transport capacity in the capital.
Mudavadi said the project will complement ongoing cooperation with the United Kingdom on the Nairobi Railway City initiative.
“Once this program is complete, with the line going up to Thika, we should be able to evacuate up to 30,000 people per hour,” he said.
According to Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs Hassan Ali Joho, the visit also resulted in the signing of a Declaration of Intent for Cooperation in Blue Economy and Fisheries between Kenya and France.
The agreement is expected to strengthen collaboration in fisheries, maritime governance, aquaculture, ocean resource management, and sustainable coastal development as Kenya expands its blue economy sector along the Indian Ocean coastline.
For France, the Kenya agreements represent a strategic opening in East Africa at a time when Paris is recalibrating its Africa policy following military withdrawals and political tensions in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.
The shift highlights a broader move toward economic diplomacy, infrastructure investment, and regional partnerships beyond France’s traditional Francophone sphere of influence.
