Russia Courts Africa: Over 50 Diplomats Set for High-Level Talks
African foreign ministries and diplomats are invited this weekend to the first inter-ministerial forum with the Russian Federation. The city of Sochi will host the work of this high-level meeting.
Belmondo ATIKPO
The first Ministerial Conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum will be held on November 9-10, 2024 in Sochi, Russia. The meeting will bring together the heads of Russia’s foreign policy departments, African states, leaders of the African Union and other integration organizations of the continent. A very busy schedule is being prepared for this first Ministerial Conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum, which will be held on November 9 and 10, at Sirius University in the Federal Territory of Sirius. On the margins of the conference, a business program has been planned, which will be marked by round tables and discussions between experts on the major themes of the Russian-African agenda. The cultural program includes concerts, exhibitions, excursions aimed at learning about the traditions of the Russian and African peoples. The heads of diplomacy of each country will have bilateral meetings with the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov. During the forum, participants will discuss cooperation in security, education, diplomatic training, economics, humanitarian cooperation and international information security. Heads of diplomacy will also tackle issues related to the fight against terrorism, trade, economic partnership and investment, food security and agri-industry, geological exploration, skills transfer and digitization of public administration, healthcare and epidemiological well-being.
The themes covered
According to the Russian diplomat, the two days of conferences will make it possible to address cooperation issues in various areas such as security, the economy, the fight against terrorism, commercial partnerships, food security, etc. Regarding Ivory Coast, Alexey Saltykov noted that this conference will contribute to strengthening the quality of the relationship between the two countries. A relationship he described as excellent. As proof, he cites trade turnover between Ivory Coast and Russia which amounted to 300 billion FCFA in 2023, an increase of 42% compared to 2022. “This conference will give a new impetus to the development of Russian multilateral relations -Ivorian, who have significant potential, but are not fully exploited. At the political level, this will relaunch dialogue between the foreign ministries of the two countries within the framework of the Memorandum of Inter-ministerial Consultations,” he noted. Not to mention the positive repercussions.
African interest
In addition to representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, representatives of Russian and African agencies, financial institutions, business, public and academic circles, the media are invited to participate in the program. A total of 19 round tables and thematic events are planned as part of the conference. Anton Kobyakov, Advisor to the President of the Russian Federation and Executive Secretary of the Organizing Committee for the preparation and holding of events within the framework of the Russia-Africa Conference, emphasizes that cooperation between Russia and Africa has become an important part of global politics. and economics, and bilateral relations are growing in almost every field. ”Several dozen ministers from African countries will come to the first ministerial conference. This shows not only the interest of our African partners in cooperation with Russia, but also the common political will to develop our countries. I am sure that the conference program will allow participants to discuss current issues and outline plans for future cooperation,” said Mr. Kobyakov. The first ministerial conference of the Russia-Africa partnership forum will be held in the federal territory of Sirius on November 9-10.