Roscongress Foundation CEO Alexander Stuglev and Integration Expertise LLC (Intex) General Director Nikolay Stolyarov signed an agreement on cooperation between their organizations on 11 March. The document envisages joint work for the creation and promotion of the ‘Russia—Africa: Shared Vision 2030’ project and the organization of scientific advisory and expert collaboration. Intex will also support the Roscongress Foundation’s information and analytical system by providing ready-made scientific works to be posted on the Foundation’s online resources.
The ‘Russia—Africa: Shared Vision 2030’ expert report on Russia-Africa relations will be presented to the public in 2019. The main themes of the analysis include macroeconomic reviews, an analysis of the political and economic systems of African countries, and a risk assessment. As part of the preparation of the report, expert roundtables are to be arranged with Intex representatives participating in African events held during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (6–8 June) and the first Russia—Africa Business Forum, which is timed to coincide with the Russia—Africa Summit (in Sochi on 23–24 October). In addition, the agreement provides for information support for the ‘Russia—Africa: Shared Vision 2030’ report that is being prepared by a team of leading Russian and African experts.
«Given the growing interest in Africa, Russian organizations, both private and public, need a high-quality guide that will help to avoid at least some of the mistakes that have already been made and provide pointers on some of the most promising mechanisms for collaboration. The ‘Russia—Africa: Shared Vision 2030’ report has brought together leading Russian experts and foreign partners to solve this problem. The Roscongress Foundation is pleased about the opportunity to assist in promoting this work as part of its congress and exhibition events and to also actively help organize joint events with our African colleagues. This is why the ‘Russia—Africa: Shared Vision 2030’ expert report will be presented at the Russia-Africa Summit that is being organized by the Foundation», Stuglev said.
During the signing, Yevgeny Korendyasov, the editor-in-chief of the ‘Russia—Africa: Shared Vision 2030’ report and a senior researcher at the Institute of African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said that intensifying Russian-African cooperation is now among the list of current priorities of the Russian government and business: «Preparations for the Russia-Africa Summit as a new platform for the Russian-African partnership are in full swing. In this situation, ensuring that relations between countries reach a new level requires a rethinking of approaches, mechanisms, and instruments for cooperation based on their heightened significance in the new conditions of world politics and economics», he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin put forward the Russia—Africa initiative at the BRICS summit (Russia, Brazil, India, China, and South Africa) in Johannesburg in July 2018. Joint events are held on a regular basis at major forums: the Russia—Africa Business Dialogue has been held as part of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum since 2017, and the first Russia—Africa Energy Roundtable was organized as part of Russian Energy Week in 2018. Shareholders in the African Export—Import Bank will hold their annual meeting in Moscow in June 2019.
