LUSAKA, Zambia 

French President Emmanuel Macron began a five-day Africa tour with Mauritius before heading to South Africa for the G20 summit and later to central African country Gabon for talks with new President Bruce Nguema.

He landed in the Mauritian capital Port Louis on Thursday and held talks with his counterpart, Dharambeer Gakhool, at State House, where the two leaders agreed to explore further avenues to strengthen collaboration between the two countries.

Among the areas discussed were food security, the energy transition and Artificial Intelligence (AI), local media reported, adding that the meeting reaffirmed the depth of the Mauritius-France partnership and the shared commitment to furthering cooperation in the areas of mutual interest.

Macron, the first French president to visit the Indian Ocean country since 1993, was later conferred with the Most Distinguished Order of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean medal by Gokhool.

He also visited the Caudan Arts Center in Port Louis, where he interacted with participants of the regional "AI4GOOD" video competition using AI for creative projects.