Rémi Rioux, Director General of the AFD, Jérémie Pellet, Director General of Expertise France, and Eva Nguyen Binh, President of the Institut français, signed a new partnership framework agreement in Paris on Wednesday, June 19.

Under the auspices of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, this partnership aims to outline common lines of action respecting the respective intervention mandates and priority countries of French development policy. Complementarities between expertise and mechanisms are particularly identified in supporting cultural and creative industries as a lever for economic growth, employment, and social cohesion on the African continent. This partnership specifically aims to identify and support actors, facilitate networking among them and with their French counterparts, and support the development of local sectors, in coherence with the renewal of the partnership with Africa.

The agreement recalls the renewal in 2023 of two programs developed in Africa, for which the operational management is entrusted to the French Institute: the "Accès Culture" program, supporting Franco-African pairs of cultural operators in projects strengthening social bonds, and the "Educational Resources" program, carried out jointly with UNESCO, which promotes children's books in 15 countries across the African continent. In autumn 2023, a project called "Tanbou" also began, with the French Institute leading a component dedicated to the professionalization of cultural operators in Haiti.

The French Institute also works with Expertise France on joint strategic positions within the framework of European projects, notably on the African continent. 

"Partnering with AFD allows us to commit to multi-year programs that integrate societal issues at the heart of AFD's missions and promote a better understanding among operators on the ground of the dynamics of Team France in serving common goals. This partnership also positions the French Institute, the only cultural operator connected with the ecosystems of various sectors internationally, as a lever for implementing fields of action covered by AFD. With Expertise France, there are numerous opportunities to align the unique expertise of the French Institute with thematic and geographical projects corresponding to our areas of competence," said Eva Nguyen Binh, President of the French Institute. 

"The partnership that has bound us with the French Institute since 2018 is essential for positioning ourselves alongside the actors in the world of education and the creative and cultural industries that we support. This includes disciplines as rich and varied as dance, theater, cinema, music, and photography. Thanks to the network and anchoring of AFD Group agencies, now including Expertise France, and the French Institutes and Alliances Françaises, we are able to perceive and support cultural transformations taking place around the world, particularly on the African continent," said Rémi Rioux, Director General of the AFD Group. 

"In implementing its projects in the cultural domain, Expertise France leverages internationally recognized French cultural expertise and know-how. The French Institute is a key partner, and our two institutions, as members of Team France, share a common vision and goals, serving our partner countries, notably in supporting cultural structures in their programming, creation, and the professionalization of cultural operators," added Jérémie Pellet, Director General of Expertise France.