About the Summit

The Russia–Africa Summit will be held on 23–24 October 2019 at the Olympic Park Main Media Centre in Sochi and will be co-chaired by President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and President of the Arab Republic of Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who also heads the African Union.

Russia–Africa Summit is the first event of this level in the history of Russian-African relations, with the heads of all states of the African continent invited, as well as leaders of major subregional associations and organisations.

At the Summit, special attention will be paid to the current state and prospects of Russia’s relations with African countries and to the expansion of the political, economic, technical and cultural cooperation. It is planned to discuss a wide range of issues on the international agenda, including joint response to new challenges and threats, and strengthening of the regional stability.

The Summit participants will discuss the promotion of Russia’s agenda in Africa, Africa’s role in the international financial system, export and investment as well as security challenges, etc.

The Summit will also include the Russia–Africa Economic Forum, which will serve as an important and much-needed step towards creating favourable conditions for promoting trade and economic relations with African countries and will also facilitate the diversification of the forms and focuses of Russian–African cooperation.

Participants

Over 40 African heads of state, Russian, regional and international business leaders, and representatives of government agencies and integration associations from Africa will attend the events.

Programme

The business programme will include a plenary session and a series of roundtables and panel discussions.

Participants will discuss the following topics: the role of Russia’s agenda in Africa and its promotion, Africa’s role in the international financial system, expanding cooperation, export and investment, as well as security challenges.

A set of important trade-, economy- and investment-related agreements, as well as a number of other multilateral documents are scheduled to be signed. They will result in the First Russia–Africa Summit Declaration and wide government and public support for cross-country cooperation.

Participants will also be treated to eventful cultural and sports programmes.

“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