The Organizing Committee in charge of preparing for and holding the RussiaAfrica Economic Forum and Summit in the Russian Federation in 2019 has held a meeting in Moscow. The meeting was chaired by Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov and attended by Advisor to the Russian President Anton Kobyakov, Roscongress Foundation CEO Alexander Stuglev, Russian Deputy Minister of Finance Sergey Storchak, and Special Representative of the Russian President for the Middle East and Africa and Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mikhail Bogdanov. The meeting was also attended by representatives of ministries and departments that are involved in preparing for the events.
The
meeting participants discussed organizational issues concerning preparations
for business and protocol events as well as their specific details. Ushakov
reiterated just how monumental and important the upcoming events in the RussiaAfrica
format are. «The organization of the Forum is a serious first step towards our economic and political return
to Africa. To date, 50 African heads of state have already confirmed they will
be attending the Forum, which is a great success», he said.
«Preparations for the most important events in the history of Russian-African relations have reached the finish line. A quarter of the worlds heads of state will come to Russia to discuss initiatives and strengthen Russian-African relations. I am certain that the participants in the RussiaAfrica Economic Forum and the Summit will demonstrate a readiness to cooperate and develop joint projects in the Eurasian and African spaces, as evidenced not only by their active cooperation during the preparatory stage, but also by the number of them who have confirmed», said Kobyakov, who serves as the Executive Secretary of the Organizing Committee.
«It is essential that RussiaAfrica Summit and Forum
produce an economic effect, among other things. We have carried out a lot of
work to provide the African side with information. We have prepared a large
package of Russian expertise and products in 12 areas. Presentations will be
given for heads of state and delegates by the leaders of such companies as
Rosatom, Russian Railways, Rosgeo, VTB, and others. They will present the
opportunities that can be offered to African countries and so having such a large
number of leaders take part in the events is a unique opportunity us to realize
economic potential», Russian Minister of Economic Development Maxim Oreshkin
said.
The main event of the RussiaAfrica Forum will be the plenary session RussiaAfrica: Uncovering the Potential for Cooperation during which the presidents of Russia and Egypt are expected to speak. A final declaration of the Summit titled For Peace, Security, and Development has been drafted and includes items on the global and regional agendas that are important to Russia as well as proposals on ways to develop the full scope of RussianAfrican relations. «At least 23 intergovernmental and interagency agreements and other agreements between African and Russian companies are expected to be signed on the sidelines of the Forum. The Forum will be held under the slogan For Peace, Security, and Development, which can serve as the foundation of the Summits final declaration and was drawn up in cooperation with the participating countries», Bogdanov said.
The Roscongress Foundation is the organizer of the events, and the Russian Export Center and Afreximbank are the co-organizers.
A detailed version of the RussiaAfrica Economic Forum programme is
available here.