Talks gathering some 30 African states and France begin in Mali's capital Bamako on Friday, with leaders expected to focus on Africa's battle against jihadists and bid to improve its democratic record, reports Yahoo! News.
The summit, also due to take in the migrant crisis, will see foreign ministers gather first, with heads of state expected to follow Saturday, according to Malian and French conference organisers.
Many of the nations taking part were once ruled by France, which in recent years has boosted its military involvement in the continent. Several English-speaking African countries will also be present.
In a bid to help crush the growing jihadist threat, France has trained more than 20,000 African soldiers every year since a Paris summit in 2013, a French diplomatic source said.
Between now and 2020, the number of French-trained troops should reach 25,000 a year, the source added.
France's training drive aims to minimise the need for direct military interventions in African conflicts, such as those launched in Mali and Central African Republic in 2013.
African troops are being trained at France's military bases in various nations on the continent, including Senegal, Djibouti and Gabon.
But even as France moves to scale down its direct involvement in African conflicts, the situation in key nations such as Mali remains far from stable.
Despite a French military intervention launched in 2013, Malian soldiers have been unable to establish control over desert terrain in the north, cradle of an Islamist insurgency.
Since 2014, France has deployed some 4,000 soldiers in the Sahel region south of the Sahara desert, where Mali is located, as part of the Barkhane force.