Second Summit
Russia–Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum

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Rosсongress Foundation and Secretariat of the Russia–Africa Partnership Forum met with UN Technology Bank

Representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Roscongress Foundation, RC-Investments Fund and the United Nations Technology Bank for Least Developed Countries held a series of meetings in Moscow. Also in attendance were representatives of the Russian Investment Agency, which assisted in organizing the gathering. Among other issues, the meeting discussed opportunities for joint cooperation during international congress and exhibition events both in Russia and abroad.

Particularly, the parties discussed organizing joint events with the Secritariat of the Russia–Africa Partnership Forum, as well as holding joint technology-oriented sessions on the sidelines of the second Russia–Africa Summit.

"We are ready to support the UN Technology Bank and assist in reaching out to relevant Russian science and technology organizations. The issues of information and communication technologies, health care, and food security, which are priorities for the Bank, are just as important for us. These questions regularly come up at meetings of the Councils under the Secretariat of the Russia–Africa Partnership Forum. I am convinced that our cooperation will allow the Secretariat to work even more efficiently on these topics and help put the achievements of the UN Technology Bank into practice," said Oleg Ozerov, Ambassador-at-Large and Head of the Secretariat of the Russia–Africa Partnership Forum.

The Roscongress Foundation and the Bank agreed to sign an agreement on cooperation in the near future and to establish a working group to further elaborate activities.

In addition, the UN Technology Bank is interested in a strategic partnership with the Russian Federation, which could include exchange programmes for innovation and research, state-of-the-art technology, as well as expertise in a number of scientific areas of mutual interest.

"The UN Technology Bank pays a great deal of attention to the development of science and technology in Africa. We are confident that as part of our comprehensive work on the preparation of the second Russia–Africa Summit in 2022, the Bank will become a reliable partner in organizing events dedicated to Russian-African scientific and technological cooperation," said Alexandra Ogneva, Deputy CEO of the Roscongress Foundation, Head of the International and Regional Cooperation Directorate.

"It is important for us to continuously develop our partnerships network. We establish cooperation with organizations that can help and support less developed countries with their technological and innovative potential. I am sure that working in Russia and, in particular, at the events of the Roscongress Foundation will help us to use the country's opportunities for the benefit of others," said Joshua Setipa, Managing Director of the UN Technology Bank.

The Bank's strategic partnership with Russia is expected to boost Russian-African cooperation, which President Vladimir Putin listed as first one of Russia's top foreign policy priorities during the Russia–Africa Summit in October 2019.

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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