📷 Session 2 of the Russian-African Conference of the Valdai Discussion Club, titled “Economic Relations: Three Years’ Audit After the First Russia-Africa Summit.”

Photo gallery

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UPD: The livestream is over. The video of the discussion is available via the same link. Stay tuned!

🎥 LIVE: at 16:30 Moscow time, we are starting a live broadcast of Session 4 of the Russian-African Conference, titled “The Soviet Legacy in Africa: From the Past Into the Future”

🇬🇧 In English

🇫🇷 In French

🇷🇺 In Russian

📌 Programme of #AfricanValdai

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📷 Session 3 of the Russian-African Conference of the Valdai Discussion Club, titled “Culture, Education and Human Dimension: How to Bring Russia and Africa Closer to Each Other?”

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📷 Session 4, titled “The Soviet Legacy in Africa: From the Past Into the Future”, and open discussion within the framework of the Russian-African Conference.

Photo gallery of the discussion is available in this album.

The video of the discussion is available via this link.

#AfricanValdai

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🇷🇺🌍 Russia-Africa: Two Halves of the Planet’s Heart

❓Is it possible to conduct a political dialogue amid the wholesale reformatting of the global space?
❓What is a natural partnership?
❓How are Russia-Africa economic relations progressing?
❓What is the fireproof safety net in Russia-Africa relations?
❓Is it possible to transform the Soviet legacy into real policies?

These issues were discussed by the participants in the Valdai Club Russia-Africa Conference held in St Petersburg on July 25, on the eve of the second Russia-Africa Summit.

The Valdai conference entitled “Russia and African Countries: Established Traditions of Interaction and Prospects for Cooperation in a New World” included four thematic sessions, two of which were open to the public.

We will tell our audience about them in brief and in the right order: https://valdaiclub.com/events/posts/articles/russia-africa-two-halves-of-the-planet-s-heart/

#AfricanValdai #RussiaAfricaSummit #RussiaAfrica

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🇷🇺🌍 While the Russia -Africa summit is not unique in the sense that other countries have also found it meaningful to interact with African heads of states in one forum (examples include the China-Africa summit, US-Africa summit, India-Africa summit, Japan-Africa summit and Turkey-Africa summit), what is unique about the recently concluded summit in St. Petersburg is the diversity in the nature of participants, issues and thematic areas that were addressed. 

There has been a growing number of summit diplomacy critics who view the events from a post-colonial lens and argue that African leaders should not gather to meet other heads of state because they are equally heads of states themselves. While this argument is simplistic and populist to an extent, it does offer an opportunity for African leaders to think of the possibilities of hosting other heads of state. This can serve as an opportunity for them to also showcase opportunities and a development agenda that can be implemented through cooperation with other countries. That, however, is not the only lesson that the summit in St. Petersburg offers.

1️⃣ For one, it shows that Africa can leverage its numbers to become a formidable agency at the international level, something individual countries are not likely to have. The collective strength of African states is consistent with Pan-Africanism and could be the vehicle by which the continent raises its issues to a level of priority.

2️⃣ Secondly, summit diplomacy should not be confused as an attempt to dilute or even get rid of bilateral relations. Indeed, during the Russia-Africa Summit, many bilateral agreements took place not only between Russia and an African state but also among African states themselves. Thus, such platforms should be seen as an effective opportunity to strengthen bilateral relations while looking at the bigger picture.

Furthermore, summit diplomacies can offer African countries a channel to explore different avenues of engagement by listening to the proposals on the table during one summit to another and strengthen cooperation with those that offer better terms of cooperation. The Second Russia -Africa summit did have numerous opportunities regarding this direction, even though some of these benefits were overshadowed by information warfare, writes Israel Nyaburi Nyadera.

https://valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/the-second-russia-africa-summit-lessons-beyond/

#Norms_and_Values #AfricanValdai #RussiaAfricaSummit

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🗣 #AfricanValdai: On July 24, 2024, the Valdai Discussion Club will hold its second Russian-African conference, titled “Russia – Africa: A strategy for cooperation in a multipolar world.”

📍 It will be held in Africa for the first time - in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

The Valdai Club's partners in organising the conference are the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Tanzania and the Russian House in Dar es Salaam.

🌍 Up to 40 experts from Russia and East African countries who are involved in the expert activities of the Valdai Club and, more broadly, in Russian-African cooperation will take part in the conference.

Building a fair, equal, multipolar world and unobstructed, unrestricted trade relations is equally important for both Russia and its African partners, as is taking into account the values of developing countries and their interests. The purpose of the conference is to compare positions on the entire cycle of these problems, and bring them to a point where Russia and African countries can apply similar approaches and implement similar paths of development in real politics.

The Russia-Africa conference will be completely open to the media. The programme lasts one day and includes an opening and four thematic sessions. The conference will be opened on July 24 at 9:30am Moscow Time by Andrey Bystritskiy, Chairman of the Board of the Foundation for Development and Support of the Valdai Discussion Club, Andrei Avetisyan, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the United Republic of Tanzania.

During the sessions, experts will discuss the following topics:

• A year after the Russia-Africa summit: political dialogue between Russia and African countries at the present stage;
• Cooperation for development: economics and technology;
• Russian and African approaches to climate change;
• Shared values and cultural cooperation.

📑 An international team of authors has prepared a new Valdai Club report especially for the conference, titled “Prospects and tasks of Russian-African cooperation”, which summarizes the first results of decisions made and agreements signed a year after the Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg, as well as a Valdai Paper: “Tanzanian virgin soil for Russian business. Prospects for cooperation in the agricultural sector.” Their presentation will take place on July 18 at the Moscow site of the Valdai Club.

https://valdaiclub.com/events/announcements/russia-africa-strategy-for-cooperation-in-a-multipolar-world-the-2nd-african-conference-of-the-valda/

Working language: English.

ℹ️ Attention! Representatives of the Media are allowed to the Conference strictly with a prior registration and confirmation from the organizers.

In order to be accredited for the event, please  fill out the form on our website. Accreditation is open until 12:00 noon Moscow time on July 19. If you have any questions, please write to [email protected].

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📆 ANNOUNCEMENT: On July 19 at 12:00 Moscow Time (GMT+3), the Valdai Club will host an expert discussion dedicated to its 2nd Russian-African Conference, titled “Russia – Africa: Strategy for Cooperation in a Multipolar World”, which will take place on July 24 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

The first Russian-African conference was held a year ago in St. Petersburg on the eve of the Russia-Africa summit. Now, with the support of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Tanzania and the Russian House in Dar es Salaam, the Valdai Club African conference will be held for the first time on African soil. More than 40 Club experts from Russia and African countries, as well as representatives of the political, expert and media community of Tanzania will take part.

During the discussion, two expert publications will be presented, prepared especially for discussion at the conference in Tanzania. The Valdai Club report “Russia-Africa Cooperation: Outlook and Objectives”, examines the first results of the development of Russian-African relations after last year’s summit in St. Petersburg, the progress of the implementation of the Summit decisions and priority tasks for the future.

The second expert publication is the Valdai Paper “Tanzanian New Ground for Russian Businesses. Prospects for Cooperation in Agriculture”. The text is devoted to the important and topical issue of Russia’s contribution to ensuring food security in African countries using the example of Tanzania.

❓What has been achieved in the year since the Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg?
❓How has the expansion of BRICS affected the Russian-African dialogue?
❓What are the prospects for the transition to new financial mechanisms in mutual settlements?
❓In what ways do the approaches of Russia and African countries to the problems of climate change, the fight against poverty and inequality in the world coincide?

Participants in the discussion will try to answer these and other questions.

🎙️ Speakers:

🇷🇺 Oleg Ozerov, Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs @MFARussia; Head of the Secretariat of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum

🇷🇺 Mayya Nikolskaya, acting Director of the Centre for African Studies at MGIMO

🇪🇬 Nourhan ElSheikh, professor of political science at Cairo University; Member of the Egyptian Council on Foreign Affairs

🇿🇦 Mikatekiso Kubayi, PhD, Researcher at UNISA Institute for Global Dialogue, South Africa

🇷🇺 Daria Ilyenko, acting Head of the Russian House

Moderator:

🗣 Oleg Barabanov, Programme Director of the Valdai Discussion Club

https://valdaiclub.com/events/announcements/valdai-club-to-discuss-russia-africa-cooperation-in-a-multipolar-world/

Working languages: Russian, English.

ℹ️ Information for the media: In order to get accredited for the event, please fill out the form on our web site. If you have any questions about the event, please call +79269307763

A link to the live broadcast of the discussion will be posted on all online platforms of the Valdai Club: on the Twitter, Telegram and Zen.

#AfricanValdai #Africa

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📆 TOMORROW, July 19 at 12:00 Moscow Time (GMT+3), the Valdai Club will host an expert discussion dedicated to its 2nd Russian-African Conference, titled “Russia – Africa: Strategy for Cooperation in a Multipolar World”, which will take place on July 24 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

During the discussion, two expert publications will be presented, prepared especially for discussion at the conference in Tanzania:

🔹 The Valdai Club report “Russia-Africa Cooperation: Outlook and Objectives”

🔹 The Valdai Paper “Tanzanian New Ground for Russian Businesses. Prospects for Cooperation in Agriculture”

❓What has been achieved in the year since the Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg?
❓How has the expansion of BRICS affected the Russian-African dialogue?
❓What are the prospects for the transition to new financial mechanisms in mutual settlements?
❓In what ways do the approaches of Russia and African countries to the problems of climate change, the fight against poverty and inequality in the world coincide?

Participants in the discussion will try to answer these and other questions.

A link to the live broadcast of the discussion will be posted on all online platforms of the Valdai Club: on the Twitter, Telegram and Zen.

#AfricanValdai #Africa

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🎥 LIVE: at 12:00 Moscow Time (GMT+3), the Valdai Club will host an expert discussion dedicated to its 2nd Russian-African Conference, titled “Russia – Africa: Strategy for Cooperation in a Multipolar World”, which will take place on July 24 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

https://vk.com/video-214192832_456239202

#AfricanValdai #Africa

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🗣 On July 19, 2024, the Valdai Club will hosted an expert discussion dedicated to its 2nd Russian-African Conference, titled “Russia – Africa: Strategy for Cooperation in a Multipolar World”, which will take place on July 24 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

📷 Photo gallery

🎥 Video

#AfricanValdai #Africa

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🇷🇺🌍 Russia and Africa: Reliable Partners

On July 19, the Valdai Club held an expert discussion dedicated to the 2nd Russian-African Conference, titled “Russia – Africa: A strategy for cooperation in a multipolar world,” which will take place on July 24 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Moderator Oleg Barabanov invited participants to discuss how Russian foreign policy with regards to Africa is developing and what tasks it sets for itself.

💬 Oleg Ozerov, Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Head of the Secretariat of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum, presented an overview of Russia’s interaction with the African continent. He noted that the political dialogue both with individual countries and with the African Union as a whole is developing intensively. Preparations are now underway for the first meeting of the foreign ministers of Russia and African countries in Sochi, scheduled for November. The trend towards African sovereignty continues to intensify. The continent is ready for a breakthrough.

💬 Mayya Nikolskaya, acting Director of the Centre for African Studies at MGIMO, who authored the Valdai Paper on Russian-Tanzanian economic interaction, spoke about the partnership between Russia and Tanzania. She emphasised that the topic of partnership “is close to the Tanzanian national spirit and the way Tanzanians see international politics.” Tanzania is one of those African countries that has been preoccupied with introducing its own vision of national development since decolonisation. It has a distinctive culture, supports autochthonous capital and, in principle, tends to rely on its own strengths and different trading partners.

💬 Daria Ilyenko, acting Head of the Russian House in Dar es Salaam, briefly outlined the activities of Rossotrudnichestvo in Tanzania and on the African continent as a whole. There are now eight state-owned Russian Houses in Africa, but Rossotrudnichestvo is also working to open non-state ones via local NGOs. The main tasks facing these centres are strengthening the role of the Russian language, supporting compatriots, and promoting Russian science, culture and education, which, according to Ilyenko, remains one of the main components of Russian influence in Africa. In particular, education is one of the main vectors of Russian-Tanzanian cooperation.

💬 Nourhan ElSheikh, Professor of Political Science at Cairo University and Member of the Egyptian Council on Foreign Affairs, called Russia a reliable partner of Africa and noted that now it makes sense to focus on economic cooperation. In this area, in her opinion, much has been achieved, but the level that would completely suit both Africa and Russia has not yet been achieved. It is necessary to increase trade volumes and implement ideas about trading in national currencies and developing systems of international payments and money transfers. An action plan with clear deadlines is probably needed.

💬 Mikatekiso Kubayi, a researcher at the UNISA Institute for Global Dialogue, South Africa, examined Russian-African relations in the context of the transition to a multipolar world and the development of a multilateral approach in which Africa and the countries of the Global South get a voice and the opportunity to advance their interests. Africa is not the most powerful region nor the richest; for a long time, much was imposed on it from the outside, in fact not even allowing it to the negotiating table, but now it is finally trying to insist on its own. Against this background, the continent, despite external pressure, has chosen Russia as its development partner.

https://valdaiclub.com/events/posts/articles/russia-and-africa-reliable-partners/

#AfricanValdai #Africa

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