President Paul Kagame has arrived in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, to participate in the 2025 edition of the Africa CEO Forum, the continent’s premier gathering of business leaders, investors, and policymakers.
The annual summit brings together over 2,000 participants from more than 70 countries for two days of high-level discussions, debates, and networking sessions aimed at accelerating the private sector’s role in Africa’s development.
On Monday morning, President Kagame is expected to join a distinguished panel of African leaders, including President Alassane Ouattara of Côte d’Ivoire, President Bassirou Diomaye Faye of Senegal, President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani of Mauritania, and President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, for the forum’s official opening ceremony.
Later, President Kagame will contribute to a presidential panel discussion on “Policies, Practices and Personalities Fit for the New World Order.”
The session will focus on how African leadership can adapt to a shifting global landscape, where transactional geopolitics are becoming the norm, limiting traditional avenues of international cooperation for many African nations.
Held under the theme “Africa in a Transactional World: Can a New Deal Between State and Private Sector Deliver the Continent a Winning Hand?”, this year’s forum emphasises the need for stronger collaboration between African governments and the private sector to unlock inclusive economic growth and resilience.
Other prominent speakers at the 2025 edition include President John Dramani Mahama of Ghana, Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa of Tanzania, Prime Minister Amadou Oury Bah of Guinea, and Côte d’Ivoire’s own Prime Minister Robert Beugré Mambé, among others.
The Africa CEO Forum, founded in 2012, has become a vital platform for shaping Africa’s economic agenda, fostering dialogue between public and private sector actors, and promoting cross-border investment opportunities.
The 2024 edition of the Africa CEO Forum took place in Kigali, Rwanda, from May 16 to 17. Building on the success of that summit, Rwanda has once again been selected to host the 2026 edition of the summit.
