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The EAEU Member States’ Business Mission to African Countries Will Take Place with Support from Russia’s Leading Industry Organizations

The Russian Export Centre, the Roscongress Foundation, the State Development Corporation VEB.RF, RosGeo, the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation, the All-Russian Non-Governmental Organization of Small and Medium Business "Opora Russia", and the Eurasian Economic Commission will undertake several business missions to African countries.

"The initiative under consideration follows on directly from the agreements reached following the Russia–Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum in St. Petersburg. The official delegations from African countries and business figures expressed their keen interest in continuing to promote their relationship and in the deepening and intensification of Russia–African cooperation, within which priority areas for economic cooperation have been identified in which concrete results can be achieved in the next few years. We are talking about energy, including renewable energy sources, the development of infrastructure, especially railway and housing construction, mining and mineral processing, agriculture, digital technologies, geological exploration, medicine, science, and education," Anton Kobyakov, Adviser to the President of the Russian Federation, Executive Secretary of the Organizing Committee for Russia–Africa Events.

The aim of the visits by representatives of leading business organizations from Russia and the EAEU will be to strengthen relations with regional organizations of the African continent in key areas of development of trade, economic and investment potential.

The delegations will also comprise representatives of Russian business and other EAEU member states working in the transport, agribusiness, exploration, mining and processing of minerals, energy, and digital service sectors.

“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