A new chapter for Europe and Africa begins in Nairobi

The Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi was more than another entry in the crowded calendar of Africa–Europe meetings. Its importance lies in where it took place, who convened it and what it revealed about the changing grammar of partnership between the two continents, writes Jean de Ruyt.

For too long, Europe’s engagement with Africa has been interpreted through the prism of history. Colonial memory, language, inherited influence and the reflex of assistance have shaped perceptions on both sides. These elements cannot be ignored. Yet they no longer provide the most useful map for understanding the future. A different logic is emerging. Europe’s most valuable African partnerships are increasingly being defined by strategic relevance rather than historical proximity, formed with countries that combine regional influence, economic potential and diplomatic capacity.

Kenya illustrates this shift.

Nairobi is a diplomatic capital in its own right. It hosts the only United Nations headquarters in Africa and in the Global South and serves as a regular meeting point for East African and Horn of Africa diplomacy, sitting close to regions that matter profoundly to Europe. Kenya is also a centre of innovation, digital finance and entrepreneurship, with a private sector capable of operating across borders and a foreign policy increasingly attuned to global debates.

Its energy story adds further credibility. Kenya has built one of the most renewable electricity systems in the developing world, giving Nairobi authority on climate transition and making Kenya a natural partner for Europe at a time when energy security, competitiveness and decarbonisation have become inseparable objectives.

The significance of this convergence is increasingly reflected in Europe’s own policy choices. Europe is coming to recognise that its future competitiveness depends on the strength of its partnerships with regions that will shape global growth. President William Ruto’s visit to Brussels this week offers a timely illustration. His meetings with King Philippe, European Council President António Costa and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola were not organised around the traditional vocabulary of aid. They focused on trade, investment, the EU–Kenya Economic Partnership Agreement and climate finance; the conversations of partners building shared interests, not of donors and recipients operating within an outdated framework.

Kenya occupies a particularly important position. The implementation of the European Union Kenya Economic Partnership Agreement, together with expanding cooperation in energy, innovation and digital transformation, demonstrates what a modern Europe–Africa relationship can look like, one built on investment and market integration rather than transactional engagement.

President Ruto deserves closer attention in European capitals. He has emerged internationally as one of Africa’s most visible advocates for financial reform, climate finance and a more balanced international order. In Nairobi, he described the new relationship he seeks as one grounded in sovereign equality, mutual respect and shared responsibility. This is a serious diplomatic proposition: African governments seek to be co-authors of policy, not recipients of agendas designed elsewhere.

Too much of the Europe Africa conversation still carries the residue of prescription. Europe identifies the problem, designs the instrument and then invites African participation. This approach is increasingly ill suited to the realities of the continent. African countries today possess more options than ever before. They are courted by a growing number of international partners. They are also more willing to articulate their own priorities, even when those priorities do not align perfectly with European preferences.

The Nairobi summit also points to a useful evolution in France’s approach, which appears increasingly prepared to engage Africa beyond the traditional Francophone framework. A more pan-African approach, pursued consistently, could help bring African concerns into global forums at an earlier stage, the real test being whether African priorities influence the terms of debate from the outset.

The controversy surrounding South Africa’s absence from the G7 guest list should also give Europeans pause. South Africa remains a central African actor whose weight cannot simply be wished away. African representation in global forums should never appear to be the byproduct of disagreements among external powers. Kenya’s rise should not be interpreted as South Africa’s decline. Europe requires a broader range of African partners and a steadier habit of listening to more than one voice.

That is precisely the point.

A mature Europe Africa relationship cannot be organised around a single capital or a single historical corridor. It will be plural: South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, Senegal, Morocco, Ethiopia, Rwanda and others, each for different reasons and in different formats. The question is whether a country can help shape a common future, not whether it belongs to Europe’s past.

Kenya can.

Its agenda overlaps with Europe’s on many of the issues that now define international cooperation: transport and digital infrastructure, resilient supply chains, food security, clean energy, regional integration, security in the Horn of Africa and employment for a young and rapidly growing population. These are shared strategic interests, not charitable concerns.

For Europe, this requires a change in posture. The language of assistance is too limited; the habit of instruction too often counterproductive. Co-investment is a better principle: European capital, technology and regulatory experience matched with African priorities, institutions and entrepreneurship, with the patience that equal partnership requires, including accepting African agency across a range of international relationships.

As leaders prepare for the next round of global discussions, Kenya’s growing prominence should be understood as part of a wider transformation. The future of Europe Africa relations will be shaped less by legacy and more by strategic relevance, economic integration and shared interests. The challenge is to adapt its policies, institutions and political habits to reflect it, not merely to acknowledge the shift in speeches. The opportunity now is to ensure that Europe is ready to meet it.

Kenya is one of the countries demonstrating what that future may look like. The opportunity now is to ensure that Europe is ready to meet it.

Jean De Ruyt is a former Belgian diplomat and served as the permanent representative of Belgium to the European Union, NATO and the U.N. He was also the director general for political affairs at the Belgian Foreign Ministry. He is a member of the Belgian Royal Academy.

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