PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron was to host Chadian counterpart Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno in Paris on Tuesday as the two rebuild ties nearly two years after N’Djamena ordered French forces off its soil, officials said. Macron’s office said Monday the leaders were seeking “to relaunch a partnership” at a time that Africa’s Sahel region finds itself in “a complicated environment.” That includes a war in Sudan that has caused a million refugees to flee to neighboring Chad, jihadist activity by the Boko Haram group in the Lake Chad region, and hostile armed groups in Niger and Libya. Relations between France and its former colony nosedived in November 2024, when Chad ended a six-decade security arrangement with Paris by ordering French troops out. The move compounded forced French military withdrawals from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger in the wake of military coups in those countries. But recently French-Chadian relations have been on the mend, with both countries edging toward a reformed, discreet partnership with a stronger role for economic and business ties. The thaw began in January when Deby was received at the Elysee Palace, and he and Macron again met at a summit in Nairobi in May. In late September, two Chadian ministers visited Paris to drum up investment. Macron’s office was at pains to say that Tuesday’s meeting highlighted a relationship “of equals, with mutual respect.” It said the cooperation envisaged was in the “cultural, economic and security realms.” France’s employers’ federation Medef is expected to send a delegation to N’Djamena “in the coming months,” the Elysee said. It added that security cooperation remained a priority and was restored at the beginning of the year, notably for military training, equipment supplies and intelligence sharing. A high-ranking Chadian military officer told AFP that a group of French intelligence officers have been deployed to N’Djamena to work with Chad’s national agency, and a French surveillance plane was operating on the border around Lake Chad where Boko Haram fighters were active.