THIRD RUSSIA–AFRICA SUMMIT AND OTHER RUSSIA–AFRICA EVENTS

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Cooperation between Russian regions and African partners topic of discussion at the 45th Meeting of the Council of Heads of Constituent Entities of the Russian Federation under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation

The 45th Meeting of the Council of Heads of Constituent Entities of the Russian Federation under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation on the development of inter-regional cooperation in the Arctic was held at the Foreign Ministry Mansion. One of the topics discussed at the meeting, chaired by Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergei Lavrov, was how to strengthen cooperation between Russia’s regions and African partners during the Second Ministerial Conference of the Russia–Africa Partnership Forum in Cairo on 19–20 December 2025.

The Head of the Republic of North Ossetia – Alania, as well as the governors of the Arkhangelsk, Vologda, Murmansk, Omsk, and Sverdlovsk regions, senior officials of the Presidential Executive Office and the federal legislative and executive authorities, and representatives of the Amur and Astrakhan regions all took part in the Council’s work.

During the meeting, Sergei Lavrov noted that Africa is of strategic importance for Russia and one of its key foreign policy priorities. “Even after gaining political independence during decolonization – a process that was led by our country – for decades the newly independent African states remained economically and financially dependent on their former colonial leaders. And in many ways, they still are. In our dealings with our African friends, we have noticed what I would call Africa’s ‘second awakening’. They want to move from political independence towards managing their own resources and wealth in their natural interests, while remaining open to international cooperation. This trend confirms that the continent of Africa is already (and its role in this sense will continue to grow) a pillar of the emerging multipolar world order and will play an increasingly significant role in global politics, economics, and finance,” Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation stressed.

The main topic of conversation at the Meeting was the upcoming Second Ministerial Conference of the Russia–Africa Partnership Forum. Sergei Lavrov mentioned the Russia–Africa Partnership Forum Action Plan 2023–2026, adopted at the Russia–Africa Summit in St. Petersburg in 2023, which also covers issues of inter-regional cooperation between Russia and African countries in various areas. The Minister of Foreign Affairs emphasized that the interim results of the implementation of the joint Action Plan would be discussed at the conference in Cairo, and that special attention would be given at the Conference to preparations for the Russia–Africa Summit in 2026.

Sergei Lavrov made special mention of the contributions of the Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, and Stavropol territories, the republics of Tatarstan and Yakutia, and the Rostov and Kemerovo regions, and the cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg to work with African countries.

“For years, Russia’s regions have supplied enormous volumes of agricultural products to Africa. In October, Saint Petersburg Mining University hosted the first ever Russian–African Raw Materials Dialogue. Our goal (as requested by our African colleagues) is to supplement food supplies, establish food production, and especially fertilizer production, on the African continent. There is every opportunity to do this,” the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation said. Sergei Lavrov also touched on scientific and educational cooperation. As hotbeds of scientific development with large student populations, the Novosibirsk, Nizhny Novgorod, and Irkutsk regions play an extremely useful role.

Concluding his speech, the Minister of Foreign Affairs emphasized the importance of supporting the interest shown in working with African states in Russia’s historical regions, including the Donetsk People’s Republic, the Lugansk People’s Republic, Crimea, and Sevastopol.

The Second Ministerial Conference of the Russia–Africa Partnership Forum will take place in the Egyptian capital of Cairo on 19–20 December 2025. The event will be attended by the foreign ministers of Russia and African states, as well as by the heads of regional integration associations in Africa.

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“We highly value the results of our joint work at the summit. I am sure the achieved results are creating a good foundation for further deepening the Russia-Africa partnership in the interests of our nations’ prosperity and wellbeing.”

President of the Russian Federation
Vladimir Putin

The Russia–Africa Summit, which is taking place in Sochi on 23–24 October 2019, encapsulates the historically friendly relations between the African continent and the Russian Federation. This Summit carries great significance as it is the first of its kind to emerge during a period of major global and international transformations. In response to the aspirations of the people it is representing, the Summit intends to build a comprehensive framework for expanding Russian–African relations into broader horizons of joint cooperation across different fields.

The African nations and Russia share a common understanding of international relations, based on the principles of respect for the rule of international law, equality, non-interference in the internal affairs of states, and the peaceful resolution of disputes. Both sides affirm their commitment to support multilateral actions to oppose new international threats, be they terrorism and extremism in all their forms, or declining growth rates. The two sides share a firm conviction regarding the importance of developing trade flows and supporting mutual investment in such a way as to ensure security, peace and development for the African and Russian people.

African countries have huge potential and opportunities that will allow them, once efforts to streamline their economies have been achieved, to emerge as real global players. In recent years, the nations of this continent have achieved major successes spanning the political, economic, social and administrative spheres. Africa has flourished in terms of growth over the past decade, reaching a continent-wide growth rate of 3.55% in 2018.

The African Union Summit, which was held in Niger in July 2019, continued the efforts of the African countries and saw the African Continental Free Trade Agreement come into force, along with its operational instruments. The agreement is one of the key objectives of Agenda 2063, an African development strategy that has been created to address the African people’s desire for prosperity and decent living standards.

These successes are opening up wide-ranging prospects for cooperation between African countries and the Russian Federation, and confirm the determination of African governments and their people to cooperate with multiple partners in order to establish mutually beneficial relations.

With this in mind, we express our hopes that the Russia–Africa Summit will help in the establishment of constructive strategic relations, based on partnership between two sides across various fields, and in the service of fulfilling the hopes and aspirations of the African people and their friends in Russia.

President of the Arab Republic of Egypt
Abdelfattah ALSISI