The Russia-Africa summit will be held in Sochi on October 23-24 under the co-chairmanship of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
“This is the first event of such a level in the history of Russian-African relations at which the heads of all states of the African continent, as well as the leaders of the largest subregional associations and organizations, are invited,” the press service of the Russian leader said in a statement.
Within the framework of the summit, an economic forum will be held in which more than 200 heads of companies, ministers of key industries and representatives of the expert community from the Russian Federation and African countries will take part.
It is noted that special attention at the summit will be paid to the "state and prospects of relations" of Russia with the countries of the African continent, including the development of partnerships "in the political, economic, technical and cultural fields."
“It is planned to discuss a wide range of issues on the international agenda, including joint opposition to new challenges and threats, strengthening regional stability,” the Kremlin’s press service said.
As a result of the meeting, the adoption of a political declaration "in the main areas of Russian-African cooperation" is expected.
Assistant to the Russian President Yuri Ushakov told reporters that the summit will be visited by senior representatives of 43 African countries.
“The summit will bring together the heads of state and government of 43 African countries, a total of 54 countries. Forty-three will be presented at the highest level, this in itself is a significant indicator, ”RIA Novosti quoted Ushakov as saying.
He also specified that 11 states will be represented at the level of vice presidents, foreign ministers or ambassadors.
According to Ushakov, Vladimir Putin will also hold a series of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit.
“Putin will hold a series of bilateral meetings that are agreed in advance. We plan that each meeting will last about 30-45 minutes, we will accept several states, taking into account the fact that this year we have already received several representatives of the African continent with visits. Now this work will continue during the summit, ”- quotes the Russian leader TASS.
Ushakov said that on October 23, in addition to negotiations with the Egyptian president, separate meetings are planned with the leaders of Namibia, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Nigeria, South Africa, as well as with the Prime Minister of Ethiopia and the Chairman of the Sovereign Council of the Republic of Sudan.
The assistant to the head of Russia also noted that issues of bilateral cooperation and international issues, including the settlement of regional conflicts on the continent, will be condemned with the leaders of these states. At the same time, Ushakov added that the President of the Russian Federation plans to separately speak with the leaders of all 43 countries in the “on their feet” format.
“Positive trend”
The significance of the upcoming summit was noted by both the president of Russia and the leader of Egypt.
Vladimir Putin called the event "an unprecedented and landmark event." According to him, this is the "first full-format summit", which will bring together leaders of African states and leaders of leading regional associations. He stated this in an interview with TASS.
“Today, the development and strengthening of mutually beneficial ties with African countries and their integration associations are among Russia's foreign policy priorities,” Putin emphasized.
He also noted that the idea of organizing a Russia-Africa summit had appeared long ago, but it took time and considerable preparation for the event to become “the starting point for building fair partnerships, which are based on equal rights and mutual practical interest”.
Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, in turn, said that the summit is the first of its kind during the period of major global and international transformations. This was reported on the website of the event organizer - Roscongress Foundation.
- View of Johannesburg
- AFP
- © Mujahid Safodien
According to the Egyptian leader, there are "broad prospects for cooperation" between African countries and Russia. He also noted that the governments of African countries and its people “confirm their determination” to cooperate to establish mutually beneficial relations.
According to Alexei Andreev, an Africanist, senior researcher at RISI, the upcoming summit "certainly has tremendous significance" for both African countries and Russia itself "in the political and economic sense."
“For the Russian side, in conditions of aggravation of relations with the West and its sanctions policy, the strengthening of ties with the states of the African continent is an extremely positive trend. African countries, in turn, value the principle that the Russian Federation adheres to: African problems - an African solution. After all, Russia did not participate in the strongest political pressure that Western countries exert on the continent, ”the expert said in a conversation with RT.
“Expanding diverse cooperation”
According to the Kremlin’s press service, on October 23, the leaders of Russia and Egypt will open an economic forum in which officials from the Russian Federation and African countries, as well as representatives of large business, will take part.
In addition, Putin and Sisi will hold a working breakfast with heads of state and leading regional organizations of the African continent that day, the Russian leader’s aide told reporters.
“The key topic of this lunch, working breakfast is to discuss the prospects for cooperation between these largest regional organizations, African states and our Eurasian Economic Union, our EurAsEC has come up with this idea,” TASS quoted Ushakova as saying.
According to the forum organizer, since 2001, trade between Russia and the countries of the African continent has increased from $ 5 billion to $ 20.4 billion.
Experts note that the Russian side is interested in enhancing cooperation in the field of agriculture, mining and processing of natural raw materials.
Within the framework of the business program of the Russia-Africa economic forum, the parties will also discuss the development of cooperation in the humanitarian and social spheres. According to Russian Minister of Science and Higher Education Mikhail Kotyukov, Moscow expects "further expansion of diverse cooperation" in this area.
“Now opportunities and ways to increase the number of students from African countries in Russian universities are being worked out in the coming years,” Kotyukov said.
In addition, Russia and Rwanda plan to sign an intergovernmental agreement on the margins of the summit to build a nuclear science and technology center in this African country, Yuri Ushakov said.
As noted by Alexei Andreev, the parties can discuss the details of this transaction during the forum.
“Rwanda demonstrates tremendous successes in the scientific and technical sphere, creating a lot of innovations and presenting a platform for general continental events in this area,” the expert stated.
Alexey Andreev also suggested that the parties at the summit will discuss health issues. The expert recalled that Russian experts played a key role in stopping the spread of Ebola in Guinea.
“In addition, microbiological laboratories of Russia work in this country, which is a promising area of bilateral cooperation, which can serve as an example for other African countries,” the expert emphasized.
"Intermediate"
According to experts, at the summit special attention will be removed to political issues. In particular, during the upcoming meeting of Vladimir Putin with the leaders of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan, it may come up with a solution to the problem of building an Ethiopian dam.
- Blue Nile River
- © Wikipedia
In anticipation of the summit, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri said in an interview with RIA Novosti that Russia, which always advocates compliance with international law, can help resolve the dispute between Cairo, Addis Ababa and Khartoum on the launch of the An-Nahda Dam in Ethiopia (“ Revival ”). According to him, in this case we are talking about the fate of 245 million people.
Recall that Ethiopia has been implementing this large-scale project on the Blue Nile for seven years. However, experts note that the launch of the dam will lead to a significant shortage of water in the Sudan and Egypt, located downstream. Three states have repeatedly held meetings to solve this problem, but they have not been able to agree on water distribution and the launch of a new facility. After the next negotiations were unsuccessful, Cairo called on the international community to mediate the settlement of the dispute.
According to Alexei Andreev, the issue of Russia's mediation in the conflict has become even more relevant, since after the coup in Sudan, the republic “fell out of negotiations” to resolve the dispute.
“Moscow has good relations with all parties and could act as a mediator in resolving this issue. However, whether the situation gets such a development depends on the Ethiopian leadership - it is necessary that Addis Ababa agree to participate in the conflict of third countries, ”the analyst explained.
African Security
The key topic of bilateral meetings between Vladimir Putin and his colleagues at the Russia-Africa summit will be security on the African continent, analysts say.
A few days earlier, the Russian president announced Moscow’s readiness to help Africa fight the militants. He stated this in an interview with TASS. According to him, the armed forces and law enforcement agencies of a number of African countries "are not able to counter the militants alone and need substantial help."
Putin also noted that the Russian side intends to continue "a course to expand contacts between special services and law enforcement agencies of Russia and African countries in the fight against terrorism, organized crime, drug trafficking, money laundering, illegal migration, piracy."
- Burundi African Union Soldiers
- AFP
- © Mohamed Abdiwanhab
Vladimir Putin also noted the active development of military-technical cooperation (MTC) with African countries.
“The initiators (cooperation. - RT ) are often African countries themselves, who understand that their independence and sovereignty must be able to be protected, including from extremist and terrorist groups,” TASS quoted the Russian president.
The Russian leader also added that at present “military-technical cooperation agreements are in force with more than thirty African countries,” to which the Russian Federation supplies “a wide range of armaments and equipment”.
According to Alexei Andreev, the security system in Africa is extremely unstable, therefore, the countries of the continent need Russian support.
“In Mali, there was even a collection of signatures among the population for strengthening military-technical cooperation with Russia. More than 10 million local residents cast their votes for this initiative, ”said the expert.
Andreev also emphasized that among the political forces of African states there are many groups that support cooperation with Russia in the field of military-technical cooperation.
- General view of Bangui - the capital of the Central African Republic
- Reuters
- © Siegfried Modola
“These circles understand that the West pursues exclusively its economic and geopolitical interests in Africa. For them, African countries are a source of resources. At the same time, the success of the Russian mission in the Central African Republic, approved by the UN, has become an example for other states of the continent, ”the analyst said.
Russia and Africa have a good foundation for strengthening their partnership in the military-technical sphere, Andreev believes.
“Russia could increase the sale of high-quality and low-cost weapons to African countries, as well as increase the pace of training for the African military,” the expert said.
Summarizing all aspects of the upcoming summit, experts agreed that it would be the beginning of a new stage in mutually beneficial cooperation between the Russian side and African countries.
“For Russia, this is the first experience of such a level when, on the one hand, the country is on the scales, and the continent is on the other. As we live in a rapidly developing world, the search for partners in the region, which is one of the most dynamically developing, is the right decision. Such a step will create a deep foundation for strategic partnership, ”the analyst said in an interview with RT.