Diplomacy

Benin
Dutch diplomats host civil society behind closed doors

In early May, the Dutch embassy in Cotonou discreetly hosted a seminar on the future of democracy in West Africa.

Guinea
Paris and Conakry collaborate on tracking down Guinea's embezzled millions

France's PNF financial prosecutor's office and the Guinean judiciary have been in regular contact in recent months. Their exchanges have focused on tracking down assets allegedly misappropriated under former president Alpha Condé.

Libya
Ara Pacis's Italian funds cause disorder in southern Libya

Italian foreign ministry-backed conflict community mediation organisation Ara Pacis, which is under pressure in Fezzan, has been accused of misusing funds and has had to suspend a migrant reception project.

Senegal
Air force chief of staff Papa Souleymane Sarr pays China a visit

General Papa Souleymane Sarr, the Senegalese Air Force chief of staff, is currently making a week-long visit to China at the invitation of the People's Liberation Army to meet his Chinese opposite numbers.

Palace Intrigues
Alassane Ouattara and Macky Sall, Anatole Collinet Makosso, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan

Intrigues big and small: every Tuesday, Africa Intelligence takes a peek into the corridors of power in Africa and beyond.

Senegal Ouattara and Sall's unlikely double get-together

Congo PM Makosso joins the Academy of Overseas Sciences

Sudan al-Burhan's discreet lobbying at Arab League summit

Nigeria
Macron to send minister Zacharopoulou to Nigeria for president-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu's inauguration

The French State Secretary for Development, Francophonie and International Partnerships Chrysoula Zacharopoulou is expected to travel to Nigeria to attend president-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu's inauguration on 29 May.

DRC
Congolese government arrives en masse in China for talks

Several of Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi's ministers arrived in Beijing before his state visit.

Central African Republic
Behind the scenes of former French soldier's evacuation

Juan Rémy Quignolot, a former French Foreign Legion soldier accused of espionage by the Central African Republic and arrested in May 2021, was evacuated to Libreville on 18 May and arrived in France on 21 May.

Sudan
Security Council mulls renewal of UNITAMS mandate

The UN Security Council is holding a series of consultations as it prepares to renew the mandate of the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan. But more than a month after hostilities broke out, the situation on the ground remains volatile.

Tunisia
Gérald Darmanin aborts Tunis trip

French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin was supposed to have accompanied his Italian counterpart Matteo Piantedosi on a visit to Tunis on 16 but his assertion that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was "incapable of solving the migration problems" made a joint trip impossible, so Piantedosi travelled alone.