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Participants of the Development of the Russophile Movement in Africa panel discussion will discuss how soft power can counter Russophobia

On 28 July, as part of the business programme of the Second Russia–Africa Summit and Economic and Humanitarian Forum, a panel discussion entitled Development of the Russophile Movement in Africa will be held as part of The Humanitarian and Social Sphere: Working Together for a New Quality of Life discussion block.

It will be moderated by Suleiman Ndiaye, Vice-Chairman of the International Movement of Russophiles. The event will be attended by Vittoria Alliata di Villafranca, Princess, author, translator and aristocrat, Dieudonne Gnammankou, Slavic Language Specialist, Nikolai Malinov, Leader of the National Movement of Russophiles in Bulgaria, Jean Alain Ngapout, International Affairs Consultant, Julius Mwandiki Riungu, Publicist, Messan Daniel Segla, Journalist, Publisher, Cherif Salif Sy, President of the Third World Forum (Forum Tiers Monde), and others.

Russia and Africa share deep historical bonds of friendship and fruitful cooperation. Africa gave Russia the great Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. Over the years, Russia has consistently supported and assisted Africa in its struggle against apartheid and colonialism. Tens of thousands of African people, who now occupy prominent government positions, were educated in Russia. This policy has yielded positive results on the African continent. As a result, the word "Russia" is perceived with warmth and love in the African continent. Earlier this year, Moscow hosted the inaugural congress of the International Russophile Movement (IRM), attracting a significant number of African delegates. Can the utilization of soft power instruments, such as the International Russophile Movement in Africa, the promotion of Russian history, culture, and language, as well as fostering stronger relations between African nations and Russia, effectively counter the West's campaign of Russophobia?

“During the period of decolonization, the Soviet Union helped African countries to liberate themselves. This tradition, this Soviet quality, has been preserved by Russia. And I believe that forming a friendship with Russia offers us the opportunity to achieve independence, a sentiment shared by many Africans. We can no longer sustain the status quo of being exploited by former colonial powers, who have profited from our natural resources. Africans are realizing that the best choice for Africa is Russia,” said Suleiman Ndiaye, Deputy Chairman of the International Russophile Movement.

paideuma.tv/en/video/suleyman-anta-ndyay-senegal-obrashchenie-k-uchastnikam-globalnoy-konferencii-po#/?playlistId=0&videoId=0 

The panel discussion will start at 16:00 in pavilion G, conference hall G4. 

The Second Summit and the Russia–Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum are organized by the Roscongress Foundation.

Event website: summitafrica.ru/en 

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“We highly value the results of our joint work at the summit. I am sure the achieved results are creating a good foundation for further deepening the Russia-Africa partnership in the interests of our nations’ prosperity and wellbeing.”

President of the Russian Federation
Vladimir Putin

The Russia–Africa Summit, which is taking place in Sochi on 23–24 October 2019, encapsulates the historically friendly relations between the African continent and the Russian Federation. This Summit carries great significance as it is the first of its kind to emerge during a period of major global and international transformations. In response to the aspirations of the people it is representing, the Summit intends to build a comprehensive framework for expanding Russian–African relations into broader horizons of joint cooperation across different fields.

The African nations and Russia share a common understanding of international relations, based on the principles of respect for the rule of international law, equality, non-interference in the internal affairs of states, and the peaceful resolution of disputes. Both sides affirm their commitment to support multilateral actions to oppose new international threats, be they terrorism and extremism in all their forms, or declining growth rates. The two sides share a firm conviction regarding the importance of developing trade flows and supporting mutual investment in such a way as to ensure security, peace and development for the African and Russian people.

African countries have huge potential and opportunities that will allow them, once efforts to streamline their economies have been achieved, to emerge as real global players. In recent years, the nations of this continent have achieved major successes spanning the political, economic, social and administrative spheres. Africa has flourished in terms of growth over the past decade, reaching a continent-wide growth rate of 3.55% in 2018.

The African Union Summit, which was held in Niger in July 2019, continued the efforts of the African countries and saw the African Continental Free Trade Agreement come into force, along with its operational instruments. The agreement is one of the key objectives of Agenda 2063, an African development strategy that has been created to address the African people’s desire for prosperity and decent living standards.

These successes are opening up wide-ranging prospects for cooperation between African countries and the Russian Federation, and confirm the determination of African governments and their people to cooperate with multiple partners in order to establish mutually beneficial relations.

With this in mind, we express our hopes that the Russia–Africa Summit will help in the establishment of constructive strategic relations, based on partnership between two sides across various fields, and in the service of fulfilling the hopes and aspirations of the African people and their friends in Russia.

President of the Arab Republic of Egypt
Abdelfattah ALSISI