By – Lawal Sale
Roscongress Foundation, the organisers of the upcoming First Ministerial Conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum announced recently on its Telegram channel, that the Southern Russian city of Sochi is to host the Russian and African delegates on November 9 and 10, 2024.
According to the organisers,
discussions at the two-day event will be based on decisions made at the second Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburgh last year. Expected at the conference are the heads of foreign services of Russia and states of the African continent, the leadership of the African Union Commission, as well as executive bodies of regional integrations, the organizers said.
Also, representatives of Russian and African ministries and agencies, financial institutions, business, civic and scientific circles, and media outlets will take part in the forum’s business program.
On his part, Anton Kobyakov, Executive Secretary of the organising committee and an Advisor to the Russian President, said the Ministerial Conference of the Russia–Africa Partnership Forum is an important initiative that aims to intensify comprehensive cooperation between Russia and African countries in all its dimensions: politics, security, economics, science, technology, culture, and humanitarian affairs.
The declaration adopted at the Russia–Africa Summit resulted in the establishment of a new dialogue format, which will meet on a regular basis to exchange views on ways to implement the entire range of agreements reached with the countries of the African continent.
Kobyakov further stated; “We firmly believe that the Ministerial Conference in Sochi will be an important step in developing cooperation between Russia and Africa,” adding, “we are seeing a high level of cooperation in several areas from the implementation of economic and humanitarian projects to join work within the scientific and technical templet”.
The conference will also see a series of bilateral meetings between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his counterparts from African nations. These meetings will address the full spectrum of bilateral cooperation and key issues on the international and regional agenda.
The event is a step toward improving Moscow’s relations with countries on the continent, according to its organizers.
Relations between Russia and African countries date back to the 1940s and 1950s during and after designed efforts to decolonise African countries. Both sides have maintained the traditional and mutual friendship, even as the then Soviet Union solidly supported African nations’ struggle against colonialism, apartheid, racism and campaign for national independence.
( Sale is Abuja based Global Affairs Analyst)
