French -African Summit Kicks off in Bamako With Participation of Head of Presidency Council.

Bamako, 15 January 2017(Lana) The Proceedings of the African-French Summit kicked off in the Malian capital Bamako on Saturday, with participation of the Head of the Presidency Council of the Government of National Accord Fayez Al Saraj and the French President Francois Hollande. Malian President Ibrahim Kita said in the opening remarks the summit 'paves the way for a new era of African French cooperation based on mutual interests, combat of terrorism, poverty and irregular migration. The French President said his country was [prepared to upgrade its exchange with African all areas, especially the combat of terrorism by training 25000 strong special forces and intelligence officers. The French President announced an increase in French investments in Africa to 23 billion Euros, as well as supporting African youth in to promote innovation and modern technology activities given that Africa has proved to be a promising land of opportunity. Chadian President called for utilizing African potentials to achieve stability, noting that the African Sahel region is the key to security and development in African regions. The Summit the 27th, is being convened under the theme 'Partnership, Peace and Development in Africa'. It aimed evaluate progress in implementing the recommendations of the Paris Summit of 2013, and to explore the ways for strengthening exchange for a collective addressing of common challenges and achieving security and development in the African continent. Al Saraj, according to the Council's official website, was expected to relay to the summit Libya's vision for coordination between African states to combat terrorism, irregular migration, as well as the joint economic projects with an emphasis on local development to offset these phenomena. =Lana=