Work is under way on a series of expert reports united by the common theme of ‘Russia—Africa Shared Vision 2030’ as part of preparations for the Russia-Africa Summit and the first Russia-Africa Business Forum (Sochi, October) timed to coincide with the Summit.
«Russia has traditionally prioritized developing relations with African countries. Trade and economic relations as well as investment projects with the countries of the African continent offer enormous potential. Major Russian businesses view Africa as a promising place for investment. The fact that the Russia-Africa business dialogue has been held regularly during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum since 2017 confirms the growing intensity of such cooperation. This year, the Russia-Africa business dialogue will take place on 6–8 June. Moreover, the first Russia—Africa Energy Roundtable was organized in 2018 during Russian Energy Week. In June 2019, there will also be an annual meeting of African Export-Import Bank shareholders, which have included Russia since December 2017 as represented by Russian Export Center, along with an economic conference that will lay the foundation for continuing the dialogue between countries at a high level as part of major subsequent business events», Adviser to the Russian President Anton Kobyakov said.
The Roscongress Foundation, along with the Integration Expertise information-analytical company and a collaborative writing team of Russian and African experts, will outline the main areas for interaction between Russia and African countries. An expert analysis, including macroeconomic reviews, and an analysis of political systems and intercountry development strategies will be used to reach conclusions about opportunities for cooperation, make recommendations, and define specific goals for the development of Russian-African relations in the period until 2030.
The main themes of the analysis will be: Russian exports to and investments in Africa, Africa’s role in the international financial system, the export of Russian education to Africa, an overview of the competitive environment, migration (both inside and outside Africa) as a tool of international policy, and security challenges: Russia’s interests and role, among other themes. Director of the Department of Africa of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Andrey Kemarsky said the work on the series of expert reports united by the common theme of ‘Russia—Africa Shared Vision 2030’ will make a significant contribution to intensifying Russian-African cooperation and will further promote Russia’s interests on the African continent. «This project seems to be particularly relevant given the fact that the Russia-Africa Summit is scheduled to be held in Russia with the participation of heads of all African states in 2019», Kemarsky said.
Russia’s partnership with the African continent was also a major focus at the Valdai International Club’s discussion platform, which hosted an expert session titled ‘Russia’s Return to Africa: Interests, Challenges, and Prospects’. Andrei Maslov, an expert at the Valdai Discussion Club and Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Russia—Africa Shared Vision, noted: «2019 should be an historic year in the development of Russian-African relations. The summit of heads of state at the end of the year should take place at a time when there are record growth rates in Russian exports to Africa. Russia is interested more than ever in new markets and international alliances, and in recent years Africa has solidified itself as one of the growth centres of the global economy. For many years, Africa has remained a financial, human resource, and donor to the world economy, and now it is steadily on the path towards independent development».
More information on future reports will be available at expert roundtables organized by the Roscongress Foundation and also via the Roscongress Foundation’s information and analytical system.
