He was one of the only African kings of the "Rivières du Sud," if not the only one, to be invited to Paris for the Exposition Universelle (1889). He embarked with his retinue (consisting of 32 people) on the "Goéland" and arrived at Marseille on 25 June after a journey of several days. He was welcomed honorably at the Gare de Lyon and lodged for more than a month in a private hotel on the rue Fabert in Paris, where he became an important and sought after personality. On 7 July 1889, Dinah Salifou appeared on the front page of the illustrated supplement "Petit Parisien", together with his young wife Philis and the first of their children, Ibrahima. The colonial government pampered Salifou, inviting him to the Eiffel Tower, the Parisian opera (where he met the Shah of Persia, Naser al-Din Shah Qajar, who later offered him a sabre decorated with precious jewels). Finally he was invited to the Elysée by President Sadi Carnot.