French President Emmanuel Macron arrived yesterday for a two-day visit to Madagascar - the first by a French head of state in two decades, the Associated Press reports, BTA reports.
During the visit, Macron stressed the need for France to expand its access to new markets and strengthen economic cooperation in the region. This is the first official visit by a French president to the former colony since Jacques Chirac's visit in 2005.
In the capital Antananarivo, Macron met with Malagasy President Andry Rajoelina. The two signed several key agreements and memorandums of understanding in areas such as energy, agriculture and education.
However, relations between France and Madagascar are not devoid of historical accumulations. They continue to be overshadowed by disputes stemming from the colonial past - among them Madagascar's territorial claims to a group of small islands under French jurisdiction, as well as Antananarivo's insistence on the return of the remains of a local king killed by colonial troops in the late 19th century.
During the visit, Macron announced the granting of a French loan for the construction of a hydroelectric power plant in Volobe, in eastern Madagascar - a project that has been planned for almost a decade.