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Roscongress Foundation Prepares Analysis of Foreign Trade Relations between Russia and Africa

In preparation for the Russia–Africa Economic Forum, to be held on the sidelines of the Russia–Africa Summit, experts from the analytical division of the Roscongress Foundation have prepared a report entitled ‘Russia–Africa: A Long-Term Trade and Economic Partnership’. The report has been published in the Analytics section of the ROSCONGRESS.ORG Information and Analytical System

The report covers Africa’s position in the global economy, the current state of Russian-African trade relations, and major trends in their development.

Russia has shown increasing interest in the African continent. In his address to Forum participants, Russian President Vladimir Putin drew attention to the special importance of progress in collaboration between the countries and positive experience in developing joint projects.

“Trade, investment, and industrial integration between Russia and Africa are growing swiftly. This is evidenced by an upward trend in economic indicators and the great interest shown in the Russia–Africa Economic Forum, which will bring together more than 3,000 representatives of the African business community, Russian company heads, and leading international experts. Russia thinks the outlook for collaboration with African partners is great and is ready to share new solutions and technologies with them for the development of industry and human capital”, Adviser to the President of the Russian Federation Anton Kobyakov said.

According to the FCS, Russian and African trade turnover in 2018 increased by 17% over 2017 and amounted to USD 20.4 billion. Russia exported goods worth USD 17.5 billion, which is 18.1% higher than the previous of the year.

In the process of strengthening economic ties, Russia and other partners must take into account the whole range of new trends in African development.

Although most African countries continue to depend on the extraction and export of raw materials, Africa’s leading development institutions are seeking to increase manufacturing’s contribution to GDP. An influx of foreign direct investment into the region will be crucial for accelerating industrialization and sustainable development. For this reason, many African countries are currently carrying out active reforms and creating a favourable regulatory environment for doing business.

Business opportunities in Africa will be front and centre at the upcoming Economic Forum. The event will include a plenary session, a series of round tables and panel discussions, and the organization of a major venue for business meetings.

More information on the Forum programme is available on the official event website and the event page in the ROSCONGRESS.ORG Information and Analytical System.

The Russia–Africa Summit and Economic Forum will take place on 23–24 October in Sochi at the Sirius Park of Science and Art. The events are being organized by the Roscongress Foundation, and the co-organizers of the Russia–Africa Economic Forum are Russian Export Center and Afreximbank.

For a more detailed version of the Russia–Africa Economic Forum programme, please visit: https://summitafrica.ru/en/programm/

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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