The candidate presents her programme to African ambassadors in Kinshasa

It was in the salon of honour at the People's Palace in Kinshasa that Juliana Amato Lumumba received the ambassadors of the thirty-two Francophone African states on Monday 25 May. A strategic meeting, held two days before International Francophonie Day and six months before the decisive Phnom Penh Summit.

For three hours, the candidate unfolded the nine projects of her programme 'Nine New Projects for a New Francophonie' before her interlocutors. A both pedagogical and political presentation that aimed to convert into concrete support the diplomatic capital of sympathy she has enjoyed since her official designation last March.

The Intra-Francophone Economic Integration project, presented as the 'flagship project' of the candidacy, drew particular interest. Several ambassadors hailed the coherence of a programme that builds on the candidate's experience at the head of the Union of African Chambers of Commerce.

The candidate also used this platform to announce an upcoming series of trips: Beirut in June, Phnom Penh in July, Antananarivo in September. A tighter diplomatic tour to consolidate support ahead of the Summit.