The preparation for the 2nd Russia—Africa Summit that will take place in 2022 is becoming more active. On Wednesday, the Public Council under the Secretariat of the Russia—Africa Partnership Forum held an online/offline meeting to discuss initiatives to strengthen Russian—African cooperation in education, culture, sport, as well as programmes for youth and Russian university alumni.
Yevgeny Primakov, Chairman of the Public Council and head of Russia’s Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation (Rossotrudnichestvo), indicated the proposals that needed fine tuning and emphasized the importance of promoting studying in Russian universities. «African alumni need to be ambassadors of Russian education in their home countries — it is important for Rossotrudnichestvo. We are ready to facilitate long-term and productive liaison with this part of the African society,» added Mr. Primakov.
As the organizer of the Economic Forum that took place alongside the Russia—Africa Summit, the Roscongress Foundation noted its preparedness to promote the positive image of Russia in African countries through business, cultural, and sporting events. «Clearly, Russian-African cooperation must be multifaceted and exist at various levels instead of just the liaison between their officials and members of the business community. The biggest share of any country’s population is general public. Fruitful cooperation between countries takes understanding their views and needs,» noted Armen Khachatryan, Deputy CEO and Programme Director of the Roscongress Foundation.
«The upcoming Russia—Africa Summit will focus on humanitarian projects. As was noted by the African party, such projects are the cornerstone of cooperation between two countries. For our part, we will need to prepare the concept for the Russia—Africa dialogue,» summarized Ambassador-at-Large and Head of the Secretariat of the Russia—Africa Partnership Forum Oleg Ozerov.
At the meeting of Public Council under the Secretariat of Russia—Africa Partnership Forum, participants represented the following organizations: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Rossotrudnichestvo; the Roscongress Foundation; Rosmir; the National Youth Council of Russia; the World Alumni Association; the Association of Economic Cooperation with African Countries (AECAS).
