Over 40 African ministers meeting in Russia
The inaugural Ministerial Conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum will convene this weekend in Sochi, marking a new regular dialogue format following Russia-Africa summits.
Hosted on the Sirius Federal Territory and announced by the Roscongress Foundation, the event on November 9-10 will feature more than 40 ministers from across Africa.
A Roscongress statement cited by TASS confirmed that 1,500 participants are expected, including ministers of foreign affairs, economy, healthcare, digital development, and education from countries such as Algeria, Angola, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Uganda, and many others.
Senior representatives from the African Union and regional integration organizations will also join, alongside figures from Russian and African businesses, finance, academia, and media sectors. The conference will feature 19 panel discussions covering cooperation in security, economics, skills development, digital governance, healthcare, and diplomatic training.
The agenda includes dialogues on public administration digitalization, educational partnerships, and collaborations within the Eurasian Economic Union. Bilateral consultations are planned on the sidelines of the conference, with a joint statement anticipated on developing a fair international information security framework.
“We have established bilateral intergovernmental commissions on trade, economic, and scientific-technical cooperation with many [African] countries,” Russian presidential adviser Anton Kobyakov stated. The event “will strengthen our agreements and become another historic milestone in modern history,” he added.
Last month, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov announced that numerous African countries had confirmed their participation in the conference. He also pointed out that countries have requested bilateral meetings with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the ministerial event.
