CEMAC leaders brood over exclusion from Paris summit

• CONGO - Macron's embarrassing handshake at presidential palace

• TUNISIA - Saied requests $500m in aid from Al Thani

• GUINEA - French-Guinean duo brings Pogba and Ronaldinho to Conakry and Abidjan

• CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC - François Beya fails to show in Bangui

ECCAS-CEMAC merger project in limbo 

The latest summit of the Economic Community of Central African States, held on 25 February, once again postponed the planned merger the bloc with two other regional entities.

IMF splashes out for some CEMAC states but leaves N'Djamena and Bangui hanging 

Since the beginning of the year, the International Monetary Fund has signed support programmes with four of the six countries in the oil-dependent and Covid-weakened Central African monetary zone. But its talks with Chad and the Central African Republic have stalled.

West Africa on lobbying spree to recover developed countries' share of IMF SDRs 

With France's active support, the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) is on a mission to obtain some of the special drawing rights (SDR) funds attributed to developed countries to offset the impact of Covid-19.

LSE Consulting negotiates for EU with Zimbabwe and Indian Ocean 

The European Union is trying to rework its economic partnership with East and Southern Africa but is struggling to make a mark on the continent.

IMF questions Arise IIP tax exemptions 

An International Monetary Fund team left Gabon early this week after a long annual consultation mission during which it laid out its conditions for granting the country a new loan programme. They include the scrapping of numerous tax and customs exemption regimes, and in particular one in place for the Nkok special economic zone.

One minister after another visits Moscow 

This week, it is the turn of trade minister Hugues Mbadinga Madiya and his investment promotion colleague Carmen Ndaot, who are visiting St Petersburg and Moscow.

Emmanuel Macron expected in Kinshasa in the autumn 

Over a working lunch at the Elysée Palace on April 26, Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi discussed the possibility of a visit by Emmanuel Macron to the DRC.