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Issues related to achieving Africa's food sovereignty will be discussed at the Russia–Africa Forum

On 27 July, the Integrated Security and Sovereign Development block of the business programme of the Second Russia–Africa Summit and Economic and Humanitarian Forum will start with a panel discussion titled Russia and Africa: Partnership for Food Sovereignty. It will be addressed by Konstantin Babkin, President of the Rosspetsmash Association and President of the  New Commonwealth industrial union, Andrey Guryev, President of the Russian Association of Fertilizer Producers (RAFP), Boris Listov, Chairman of the Management Board of the Russian Agricultural Bank, and Benedict Okey Oramah, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the African Export–Import Bank (Afreximbank). The moderator will be Oleg Ozerov, Ambassador at Large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.

 

Africa is one of the most vulnerable regions in the world in terms of food security, despite agriculture employing more than 60% of its labour force and contributing to about a third of the continent's GDP. 278 million people, 20% of Africa's population, are suffering from chronic hunger. The only way to solve this problem is to achieve food sovereignty. This is a realistic possibility due to the continent's immense agricultural potential. Experts estimate that 60% of Africa's fertile land is underutilized. Participants in the Russia and Africa: Partnership for Food Sovereignty panel will discuss what is needed to realize this potential and how Russia can help Africa in developing its agricultural infrastructure.

 

“Russia is a supplier of products that ensure food security: grains, fertilizers, and their components. This issue is becoming more and more acute. According to the latest UN report, the number of hungry people in Africa is growing. But, during the Second Russia–Africa Summit, we will also discuss establishing our own production on the continent, and African countries would like to receive agricultural technology and equipment from Russia. This issue is also related to food security, and it will be discussed within the framework of both the political Summit and the Economic and Humanitarian Forum,” said Oleg Ozerov, Ambassador at Large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.

 

The panel discussion will start at 09:00 in pavilion G, conference hall G6.

 

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

 

Event website: summitafrica.ru/

 

 

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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