admin
Herald Reporter
THE Russia-Africa Summit and Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum is expected to become a unique platform for direct dialogue between business, government, and representatives of the creative and cultural communities of Russia and Africa.
The Second Russia-Africa Summit and Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum, which runs from 27-28 July in St Petersburg, will see representatives from the relevant Russian ministries, Russian and African business leaders, and international relations experts, discussing the challenges facing Russia and African countries in an era of global change.
There will also be discussion about the most pressing issues and ways of resolving them to encourage the development of Russian-African relations in the economic, cultural and humanitarian spheres.
The Forum’s business programme consists of four large topic areas covering all spheres of cooperation between Russia and the African continent namely; the new global economy, integrated security and sovereign development, cooperation in science and technology, the humanitarian and social sphere: Working together for a new quality of life.
Mr Anton Kobyakov, advisor to the President of the Russian Federation and Executive Secretary of the Organising Committee for Russia-Africa events, said: “The Second Russia-Africa Summit and Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum is set to become a unique platform for direct dialogue between business, government, and representatives of the creative and cultural communities of Russia and Africa.
“I am confident that in the foreseeable future, all the Forum events will lead to a strengthening of the ties between our regions and to effective cooperation.”
One of the main events of the New Global Economy block will be a panel discussion: Doing business in Africa: Risks, market conditions, opportunities.
Issues on how to expand business cooperation between Russia and African countries will be tackled, export potential in the face of the new challenges, as well as the programmes and projects currently underway in Africa.
Taking part in the discussion will be Mikhail Aronson, deputy general director, Zyfra, Georgy Smirnov, general director, Nordgold Management, and others.
The session will be moderated by Alexander Shokhin, President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.
The key event of the integrated security and sovereign development block will be a panel discussion; Russia and Africa: Partnership for food sovereignty.
Africa is known to be the world’s most food-insecure region focusing on how Russia can help Africa develop agricultural infrastructure.
It will also focus on how uninterrupted supplies of Russian mineral fertilisers and agricultural machinery could be maintained, and how the political risks involved in paying for their import could be eliminated.
Various speakers will respond to these issues.
There will also be Partnership for Food Sovereignty panel discussion and taking part in the discussion will be Andrey Guryev, President, Russian Association of Fertiliser Producers (RAFP), Konstantin Babkin, President of the New Commonwealth Industrial Union, and others.
The discussion will be moderated by Oleg Ozerov, Ambassador at Large, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.
The problems of transitioning to fully-fledged sovereign development will be discussed at a panel discussion entitled New World Order: From the Legacy of Colonialism to Sovereignty and Development, forming part of The Humanitarian and Social Sphere: Working Together for a New Quality of Life block.
The discussion will be moderated by Irina Abramova, Director of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute for African Studies, and taking part will be Mikhail Lipkin, Director of the Russia Academy of Sciences’ Institute of World History, Rasigan Maharajh, Chief Director, Institute for Economic Research on Innovation, Tshwane University of Technology, and others.
The potential for cooperation between Russia and African countries in the field of advanced technological solutions will be unlocked by speakers at a session entitled Cutting-Edge Technologies for Africa’s Sustainable Development, to be held as part of the Cooperation in Science and Technology block. The panel discussion will be moderated by Andrey Maslov, Director of the HSE Centre for African Studies. Taking part in the discussion will be Pavel Sorokin, First Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation, Anton Butmanov, Director for Sustainable Development, EN+ Group, Sergey Machekhin, Deputy General Director, Project Engineering and International Cooperation, RusHydro, and others.
Other events being held at the venues of the Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum include the Media Forum, Meeting of University Rectors, Roundtable attended by Russian and African Supreme Audit Institutions, Youth Programme events, among others.
Peter Tanyanyiwa
Online Reporter