Holding the second Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg in July will be the strategic choice of the Russian Federation upon its return to the continent. This was announced to TASS on Thursday, May 25, by the special representative of the President of Russia for the Middle East and Africa, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov.

“This is not a one-time event, this is a strategic choice, our long-term policy and practice under the slogan of Russia‘s return to Africa. Of course, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, something was lost, lost, there was a stagnation in our relations, a number of embassies were closed,” he said.

In addition, Bogdanov announced plans to restore the work of Russian embassies in various countries of the continent.

He also stated that Moscow is interested in resuming flights of Russian airlines to Africa, since this is important for establishing social and economic ties and humanitarian contacts.

The Special Representative noted that the continent is also attractive for tourism due to the diversity of climate, culture, history and religion.

He concluded that Russia has a desire to move forward in these directions confidently and actively. Teams from Russia: they plan to make cars and sell Alenka in Africa How business from the Russian Federation is developing on the continent and what its countries can offer us Russia with the states of Africa, for these countries there is a struggle. The Belarusian leader specified that the center of the world economy is irreversibly shifting towards the progressive countries of Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East.

The day before, Igor Morozov, Chairman of the Coordinating Committee for Economic Cooperation with African Countries (AFROCOM), said that in order to restart trade with African countries, it is necessary to develop banking infrastructure. According to him, Russia does not yet have a single bank or a single fund in Africa that would become a center of competence for Russian-African cooperation.

In March, in an interview with Izvestia, Russian Ambassador to Algeria Valeryan Shuvaev said that European and American “friends” had repeatedly threatened the Algerian People’s Democratic Republic with sanctions. According to him, despite the ongoing attempts at such pressure, the country’s position on Russia and the ongoing international situation has not changed.

In July 2022, Lavrov noted that Russia’s relations with African countries are based on time-tested “bonds of friendship and cooperation.” He stated that the development of a comprehensive partnership with African countries remains among the important priorities of Russia‘s foreign policy.

The second Russia-Africa Summit and Economic Forum is scheduled for July 26-29 in St. Petersburg. The first meeting was held on October 22-24, 2019 in Sochi under the motto “For Peace, Security and Development”.Share: