By Margaret Kalekye
The Second Russia–Africa Summit and Economic Forum will take place in St. Petersburg at the ExpoForum Convention and Exhibition Centre on 27–28 July 2023.
The events aim to comprehensively strengthen Russian-African cooperation and outline the trajectory of Russia’s relations with African countries in the long term.
The Russia–Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum programme includes more than 30-panel sessions and thematic events on the most important issues involving cooperation between Russia and African states.
“African countries will obviously play an increasingly important role in the emerging architecture of a multipolar world. Bolstering ties between Russia and Africa in security as well as sustainable economic and humanitarian development creates the basis for the establishment of powerful, prosperous, and safe regions in the new realities,” said Anton Kobyakov, an Advisor to the President of the Russian Federation and Executive Secretary of the Organizing Committee for the Russia–Africa events.
The Forum’s business programme consists of four major thematic pillars that encompass all areas of cooperation between Russia and Africa: ‘The New Global Economy’, ‘Integrated Security and Sovereign Development’, ‘Cooperation in Science and Technology’, and ‘The Humanitarian and Social Sphere: Working Together for a New Quality of Life’.
The programme of the pillar ‘The New Global Economy’ will focus on what kind of prospects Russian businessmen have for doing business in Africa.
The experts will discuss such topics as expanding business cooperation between Russia and African countries, their export potential amidst the new challenges, as well as cooperation in agriculture, energy, and logistics.
The main themes of the ‘Integrated Security and Sovereign Development’ pillar will be international security, political stability, food security, as well as joint efforts to combat epidemics and emergencies. The key question that experts plan to answer as part of this pillar is: “How can Russia’s experience in ensuring security be beneficial to African countries?”
During the panel discussions of the ‘Cooperation in Science and Technology’ pillar, experts will discuss collaboration between Russia and Africa in advanced technologies.
The key themes of the pillar are how industrial cooperation leads to technological sovereignty and advanced technologies for Africa’s sustainable development.
Separate sessions will be devoted to nuclear, digital, and healthcare technologies. During the discussions, speakers will talk about how high-tech solutions could unleash Africa’s potential and have a positive socioeconomic impact on numerous areas of society.
As a multipolar world takes shape, cooperation in humanitarian affairs is of particular importance. This vast area of focus includes many specific aspects of interaction in education, culture, sports, and empowerment for women and young people.
These topics will be addressed as part of the pillar ‘The Humanitarian and Social Sphere: Working Together for a New Quality of Life’.
In addition, events on the sidelines of the Russia–Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum will include the Media Forum, the Congress of University Rectors, a roundtable attended by the supreme audit institutions of Russia and African countries, youth programme events, sessions of the Creative Business Forum and the Healthy Life Forum, as well as a session dedicated to cooperation between Russian and African government agencies and enterprises engaged in the precious metals industry, and much more.
