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Prospects for cooperation between Russia and Africa to be discussed at the African Energy Week in Cape Town

The African Energy Week will be held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from 4 to 8 November 2024. One of the central sessions of the AEN 2024 business programme is Russia–Africa, which will take place on 6 November. The session will be a continuation of the dialogue between Russia and African countries, whose prospects for cooperation were actively discussed at the BRICS Summit held in Kazan. Roscongress Foundation acts as a strategic partner of the African Energy Week.

“The BRICS summit in Kazan outlined a significant number of growth points and areas for cooperation between Russia and African countries. From this point of view, African Energy Week is a priority business platform, an ideal place for continued communication between Russian and African government officials, CEOs of companies and state corporations, entrepreneurs, investors, experts and opinion leaders in the energy sector. I am confident that the BRICS Summit, the African Energy Week and the First Ministerial Conference of the Russia–Africa Partnership Forum, which will be held on 9–10 November at the Sirius Federal Territory, will continue the close cooperation between Russia and African countries,” said Anton Kobyakov, Adviser to the President of the Russian Federation.

Effective management of the energy sector is key to utilizing Africa’s energy potential to achieve economic growth and security for the continent, and, among other things, represents one of the key areas of Russia’s cooperation with African partners. Based on the friendly ties between Russia and African states, Russian energy companies are implementing a number of promising projects on the African continent, including the construction of nuclear power plants, the development of hydropower, and the introduction of renewable – wind and photovoltaic – technologies.

The development of energy infrastructure in Africa is an important area of Russian-African cooperation, contributing to the goals of sustainable development – ensuring universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy sources. Russia is also a leader among the world’s major energy systems in terms of low-carbon electricity generation, which is particularly relevant for African partners.

The session participants will discuss what public policy measures are being taken in African countries for sustainable energy development, how the activities of Russian companies fit into this context, as well as what prospects are open on this path and what are the possible measures of financial support for projects.

Speakers at the Russia–Africa session of the African Energy Week include Dmitry Khandoga, General Director of Gazprom Export; Evgeny Lyapunov, Deputy General Director and Chief Engineer of ROSSETI; Kirill Komarov, First Deputy Director General for Corporate Development and International Business of Rosatom State Corporation; and others. The session will be moderated by NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber.

The motto of the African Energy Week is ‘Invest in African Energy’. This year, the Forum will once again be a meeting place for African presidents, ministers and politicians to meet with regional and foreign investors. The event will take the format of an interactive multi-format exhibition and business event that will bring together international and African energy players on one platform.

The African Energy Week 2023, which took place in Cape Town in mid-October last year, was attended by African presidents, including President Hage Geingob of Namibia, President Macky Sall of Senegal, President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, as well as energy and petroleum ministers from South Africa, South Sudan, Uganda, Equatorial Guinea, Congo-Brazzaville, Ghana, Mozambique, and other countries. The Forum was also attended by a large number of representatives of international government agencies and non-governmental organizations, including OPEC, the African Petroleum Producers’ Organization, the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, as well as international companies from Russia, the USA, Europe and Saudi Arabia. In total, the platform gathered more than 5,000 participants from almost 70 countries, including government delegations from 24 countries and representatives of oil companies from 55 countries. The Forum was attended by the Russian State Corporation Rosatom, Gazprom, Lukoil, and Novatek.

Dialogue between Russia and African countries will continue during the First Ministerial Conference of the Russia–Africa Partnership Forum, which will be held on 9–10 November 2024 at the Sirius Federal Territory. The event will follow up on the decisions of the second Russia–Africa Summit and will bring together the heads of the foreign ministries of the Russian Federation and the continent's states, the African Union Commission, as well as the executive bodies of regional integration associations.

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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