TheCable

President Emmanuel Macron of France has invited President Muhammadu Buhari to the Africa-France summit scheduled for Bordeaux, France, in June 2020.

Stephanie Rivoal, secretary general of the summit, disclosed this when she visited Geoffrey Onyeama, minister of foreign affairs, in Abuja on Tuesday.

She said the summit themed “sustainable cities” is aimed at helping African countries seek ways of resolving challenges within the region.

She said the presence of Buhari will be well appreciated, considering the position of Nigeria on the African continent.

Rivoal added that the summit will involve African leaders, as well as other experts and city developers who will look into occurrences in different African states and derive solutions for the problems identified.

“I will appreciate it if President Buhari will come with a delegation of people involved in city development,” she said.

“Stakeholders will be there to look at what is the best for the people that live in those cities. Besides, there will be concrete commitments by stakeholders and this will be followed up at the end of the summit.”

She explained the choice of Bordeaux as against “the big city of Paris”, to allow for  practical understanding on issues regarding access to health, water, power, among others.

Deliberations would also be on how to make the rural areas more attractive to the people so as to reduce rural-urban migration.

Onyeama appreciated the invitation and said Nigeria would love to be part of a summit geared towards the development of the country and the African continent.

“The challenges in improving quality of lives; to slow down and reverse the trend of urban-rural drift is something we are looking at and we hope to attain,” he said.

“Building up the economy of rural cities is an excellent idea. We have to look at how to make rural cities friendly for the people.

“I am sure that Mr President will keep the date as it is something he will consider.”