New Delhi, May 11 -- French President Emmanuel Macron kicked off a visit to Kenya on Sunday ahead of the Africa Forward Summit, a gathering meant to showcase France's new policy for the continent - a shift from a former colonial power seen as dominating to what Paris describes as a partnership of equals.

Held for the first time in an Anglophone country, the summit is expected to draw reactions to the withdrawal of French troops from West Africa that was completed last year amid France's waning regional influence in recent years.

Since the independence of France's former African colonies, France had maintained a policy of economic, political and military sway dubbed Francafrique, which included keeping thousands of troops in the region. ...