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Russian Figure Skating Stars to Put on Gala Concert for Russia–Africa Summit and Economic Forum Participants

Russian figure skating stars will put on a world-class gala concert at the Ice Cube multifunctional arena in Sochi’s Olympic Park on 24 October as part of the cultural programme of the Russia–Africa Summit and Economic Forum.

Guests will have the chance to see a world-class ice show that synthesizes figure skating, drama theatre, music, a circus, and advanced scenographic technologies.

Yekaterina Ivanova, an Honoured Culture Worker of the Russian Federation and head of the Roscongress Foundation’s Creative Projects Directorate, said the organizers spent a long time thinking about how to surprise the participants in the largest event in the history of Russian–African relations. “The Summit and the Economic Forum mark a new level of relations between Russia and countries of the African continent. We expect more than 40 heads of states, more than 200 CEOs from major companies and inter-regional associations, and ministers of key industries. A gala concert featuring figure skating stars combines the cultural and sports component, which is something that our country is traditionally famous for. This is a great opportunity to demonstrate the cordiality and openness with which Russia addresses our guests from African countries”, Ivanova said.

The Summit and the Economic Forum participants will also be able to visit some of the top museums, concert halls, and sites of Sochi.

For more on the cultural programme, please see the special section on the official website of the events.

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.

“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