The first Russia-Africa summit, unprecedented in scale, ended in Sochi. In terms of the number of speeches at the highest level, most of which were also open, only a high-level week of the UN General Assembly can be compared with it.
The results were quite consistent with the level – within the framework of the economic forum, multibillion-dollar contracts were concluded between Russia and African countries in various fields. Political cooperation was enshrined in a declaration in which participants agreed to work together to strengthen security, nuclear non-proliferation, the fight against terrorism and biological threats, and UN Security Council reform.
The forum was attended by about 10 thousand people. All 54 countries of the continent were represented, with 43 of them at the highest level, as well as eight of the largest African integration associations and organizations. The economic forum and the summit were covered by about 800 journalists from 43 countries.
The peak of the summit was a meeting with the heads of all delegations. Most of the performances – about 30 – were held in open mode. The rest of the speeches did not get on camera just because the meeting ended in the format of a working lunch – even the heads of state sometimes need to take a little rest from general attention.
Due to the larger number of participants, there was not much time for each presentation, so the heads of delegations had to focus on the most important. Obviously, they wanted to say a lot about many things – security issues, obstacles to development, injustices of the modern world order – but the idea of the importance of cooperation between African countries and Russia was voiced in every speech.
“We need you, Vladimir Vladimirovich, to cope with the challenges of the Sahara-Sahel region, to make our life more confident in the future and safe,” Mali President Ibrahim Bubakar Keita expressed the general mood.
The Angolan leader invited Russian investors to cooperate in the energy and mining industries, the President of the Central African Republic announced support by African countries for Moscow’s efforts to develop the continent and maintain security, Burkina Faso invited Moscow to join the Sahel Five discussions. The Prime Minister of the Government of National Accord of Libya expressed hope for Russia’s support for efforts to establish peace in the country, and the President of Chad called her the main partner in the fight against terrorism. The delegation of the Republic of the Congo proposed to build a gas pipeline together, and Mauritius to create a free trade zone with the EAEU.
However, African leaders at the same time emphasized that they would not want to be one-sided recipients of assistance, especially, as the experience of African states shows, for “free” assistance often often have to pay dearly later. “We want to act as partners in cooperation that is beneficial to all parties,” said Theodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, President of Equatorial Guinea.
The summit ended will be the beginning of a new, more intensive dialogue between Russia and African countries. Al-Sisi invited the Russian leader to take part in the forum on peace and stability in Africa, which will be held in December this year in Aswan.
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyata invited the summit to visit his country to attend the Conference on Population and Development, which will be held in Nairobi in November. The president of Cape Verde, Georges Carlos Fonseca, did not name specific dates, but promised that his country was also ready to host the meeting participants in Sochi.
The idea of holding Russia-Africa summits on a regular basis found support from African leaders. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who received the Nobel Peace Prize this year, said the next such meeting would be held in Addis Ababa.
One of the most notable topics on the second day of the Sochi Economic Forum was the discussion of Russia’s economic cooperation with African partners. The total amount of contracts, agreements and memorandums signed at the forum amounted to more than 800 billion rubles. In total, he said, over 50 agreements were signed at the forum.
Following the summit, the participating countries adopted a declaration in which they touched on the most important aspects of relations between Moscow and the capitals of the continent, as well as the problems of the international agenda. The parties agreed to establish a Partnership Forum, within the framework of which summits will be held every three years.
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