Gaborone – Botswana President Advocate Duma Gideon Boko will travel to Nairobi, Kenya, on Monday for the France-Africa Summit, which runs from 11 to 12 May 2026.
The summit is jointly hosted by Kenya and France under the theme “Africa Forward Summit: Africa-France Partnerships for Innovation and Growth.” It will bring together heads of state, business leaders, innovators, civil society, youth and members of the diaspora to explore ways of renewing and strengthening relations between Africa and France, as well as advancing economic development partnerships.
Discussions at the summit will cover a range of issues including health system strengthening, peace and security, digital competitiveness, energy access and food sovereignty, with the aim of identifying tangible solutions to shared challenges. 
The summit opens with a Business Forum on 11 May, which will showcase projects and innovations from African and French private sectors. President Boko will deliver a statement at the forum during a high-level sporting event, where he will speak to Botswana’s commitment to implementing public policies that use sport as a driver of economic, social and regional development.
He is also expected to co-chair a high-level roundtable on Artificial Intelligence, the blue economy, health and agriculture. His contribution will provide strategic and political framing for a discussion themed “AI Governance and science policy: the case for locally owned data, from mineral mapping to public services.”
President Boko will further participate in high-level engagements on sustainable industrialisation, energy transition and the international financial architecture.
On the sidelines of the summit, he will meet with Batswana living in Kenya to engage them on emerging issues of national concern and interest.
The president and his delegation are expected back in Gaborone on 13 May 2026. During his absence, Vice President Ndaba Nkosinathi Gaolathe will serve as Acting President of the Republic of Botswana.
