📆 On Tuesday,July 25, 2023, St. Petersburg will host the Russian-African Conference of the Valdai Club, titled “Russia and African Countries: Established Traditions of Interaction and Prospects for Cooperation in a New World”.

🌐 More than 60 people from 12 countries have been invited to participate in the Valdai Club’s first African Conference, including guests from Algeria, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, Ruanda, Russia and South Africa.

In the new geopolitical conditions, Africa is becoming one of priorities of the Russian foreign policy. The Russian-African conference is aimed at holding a frank conversation about how Russian and African experts see the future development of the world, Russia’s position on the African continent, how the parties can interact in new economic, political and social conditions, and how to take relations to a new level, strengthening the traditional political solidarity.

The Valdai Club Conference will actually become the final synchronisation of watches at the expert level in the run-up to the Russia-Africa Summit.

📌 Programme of the Conference

#AfricanValdai #RussiaAfrica

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🌍 In the past few years – which is the blink of an eye historically – Africa has started taking on increasingly important roles on the world stage.

It’s as if a huge continent surfaced in the modern political ocean, as if the lost city of Atlantis had returned.

Now Africa, with all its complexity, is acquiring its own agency. Moreover, this agency exists at the global level. It is enough to mention the attempt by some African countries to find a solution to the conflict in Ukraine. 

The African nations had their own views on the world around them, that they could and would definitely play their own considerable role in the development of a new system of international relations. It was also clear – and this is no less important – that the enormous African continent was becoming a testing ground for the formation of a new global system.

The continent has speeded up its movement. There is every reason to believe that Africa will become one of the leading forces, one of the dominant forces for global development if only because of its enormous human and natural resources.

Of course, all forecasts are probabilistic. But it gives us a reason to speak about the future. This is what will happen in St Petersburg on July 25 at the Valdai Club Russia-Africa conference “Russia and African Countries: Established Traditions of Interaction and Prospects for Cooperation in a New World”, writes Valdai Club Chairman Andrey Bystritskiy.

https://valdaiclub.com/a/chairman-speech/rising-out-of-the-ocean/

#AfricanValdai #RussiaAfrica #Africa

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📆 TOMORROW, July 25, 2023, St. Petersburg will host the Russian-African Conference of the Valdai Club, titled “Russia and African Countries: Established Traditions of Interaction and Prospects for Cooperation in a New World”.

The conference agenda includes four sessions, each followed by media scrum:

🔹 Political dialogue between Russia and African countries: mutual understanding in a turbulent world;
🔹 Economic relations: an audit three years after the first Russia-Africa summit;
🔹 Culture, education, human connections: how to bring Russia and Africa closer to each other;
🔹 Soviet legacy in Africa: from the past to the future and general discussion.

🌐 More than 60 people from 12 countries have been invited to participate in the Valdai Club’s first African Conference, including guests from Algeria, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, Ruanda, Russia and South Africa.

Links to the live broadcasts of the open sessions in English, French and Russian will be posted on all online platforms of the Valdai Club: on the website, Twitter, Telegram and Dzen.

📌 Programme of the Conference

#AfricanValdai #RussiaAfrica

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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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🇷🇺🌏 “Russia is returning to Africa” — this phrase is usually used by those who talk about our country’s activities on this continent.

But this phrase is incorrect: Russia, the heir of the Soviet Union, never left Africa.

Given that the adoption of the decisions of the Second Russia-Africa Summit was accompanied by the development of a mechanism for their implementation, and in light of the high professional level of the leaders and employees of the Russian Foreign Ministry who were called upon to coordinate it, there is every reason to believe that these decisions will be implemented, and that Russia’s cooperation with African countries in many areas will yield new prospects, writes Vladimir Shubin.

https://valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/is-russia-returning-to-africa/

#Norms_and_Values #Africa #RussiaAfrica #RussiaAfricaSummit

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🗣 Today, July 24, 2024, the opening of the second Russian-African conference of the Valdai Discussion Club “Russia – Africa: A strategy for cooperation in a multipolar world” took place in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Session 1, titled “The First Year after the Russia-Africa Summit: Political Dialogue of Russia and African States in Contemporary World,” followed the opening.

📷 Photo gallery

#AfricanValdai #RussiaAfrica #Tanzania

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2️⃣ Session 2 of of the II Russian-African conference of the Valdai Discussion Club, titled “Cooperation for Development: Economy and Technology”.

📍July 24, 2024, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

📷 Photo gallery

#AfricanValdai #RussiaAfrica #Tanzania

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3️⃣ Session 3 of of the II Russian-African conference of the Valdai Discussion Club, titled “Shared Values, Role of Media and Cultural Cooperation”.

📍July 24, 2024, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

📷 Photo gallery

#AfricanValdai #RussiaAfrica #Tanzania

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4️⃣ The II Russian-African conference of the Valdai Discussion Club in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, was completed by Session 4, titled “Climate Change, Social Development and Migration. General Discussion”.

📷 Photo gallery

#AfricanValdai #RussiaAfrica #Tanzania

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🇷🇺🌍 In late July 2024, the Valdai Discussion Club held its Second Russian-African Conference.

A year ago, ahead of the Russia-Africa Summit, the club organised the first conference of this kind in St. Petersburg. This time, the event was held on African soil, in Tanzania, with the support of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Tanzania and the Russian House in Dar es Salaam.

Experts from the three African BRICS member countries — Egypt, Ethiopia, and South Africa — were invited to participate in the conference. More than 20 Tanzanian representatives from politics, business, the media, science, higher education, and civil non-governmental organisations also took part in the conference.

The conference significantly contributed to strengthening ties between Russian and Tanzanian experts and to a better understanding of each other’s positions. All this laid the foundation for the development of fruitful bilateral cooperation in the future, writes Oleg Barabanov, Programme Director of the Valdai Discussion Club.

https://valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/a-year-after-the-summit-development/

#AfricanValdai #Africa #Tanzania #RussiaAfrica

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🇷🇺🌍 Africa is the embodiment of the global majority, which Russia sees as the central subject of the new world order.

The countries of the continent (not all, but many) are gradually acquiring this subjectivity, developing relations with those who are important for their social and economic growth. 

Over the past two years, Africa has become one of the key areas of Russian foreign policy. Russia is following with great interest the rise of Africa's status in international affairs and is happy to contribute to it. The continent's colonial past and its legacy serve as a vivid illustration of the results of the West's long-standing dominance.

Igor Makarov, head of the Department of World Economy at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, writes how Russia can build an effective strategy for interaction with African countries.

https://valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/africa-as-a-key-area-of-russian-foreign-policy/

#GlobalAlternatives #Africa #RussiaAfrica #WorldMajority

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📆 ANNOUNCEMENT: On November 18 at 12:00 noon Moscow time, the Valdai Club will host a presentation of the Valdai Paper "Russia-Africa: Overcoming Challenges".

Today, Russia is pursuing an active policy of expanding cooperation with African countries. The first ministerial conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum was held in Sochi on November 9-10. Its participants defined the tasks for the coming years and summed up the first results of the second Russia-Africa summit, which was held in St. Petersburg in 2023. One of the tasks, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, chairman of the plenary session of the forum, is moving away from “dependence on global mechanisms controlled by our Western colleagues”.

Since the first Russia-Africa summit in 2019, the Valdai Club has been engaged in an expert analysis of the main areas of interaction with African states. The new Valdai Paper is devoted to the modern approaches of Russian diplomacy and rich Soviet experience in working on the continent.

❓How successful is Russia's course to return to Africa?
❓What are the priorities of African states in cooperation with Russia?
❓What hinders the development of trade and the flow of Russian investments to Africa?
❓How has the accession of Egypt and Ethiopia affected the BRICS agenda?

The author of the note and the participants of the discussion will try to answer these and other questions.

🎙️ Speakers:

🇷🇺 Vladimir Shubin, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Honorary Doctor of the University of the Western Cape (South Africa), Chief Researcher, Institute of African Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences (author of the Paper)

🇲🇱 Aliou Tounkara, President of the Russian House in Mali

🇷🇺 Alexander Balezin, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Chief Researcher at the Central Asia Institute, World History Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences

🇪🇹 Dareskedar Taye, Leading Researcher at the Institute of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia

🇿🇦 Sanusha Naidu, Senior Research Associate, Institute for Global Dialogue, South Africa

🇹🇿 Khoti Chilomba Kamanga, Professor, University of Dar es Salaam

Moderator:

🗣 Oleg Barabanov, Programme Director of the Valdai Discussion Club

https://valdaiclub.com/events/announcements/valdai-club-to-discuss-relations-between-russia-and-africa/

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

Links to the live broadcast of the discussion will be posted on all online platforms of the Valdai Club: on the website, X (formerly Twitter), VK, Telegram and Dzen.

#GlobalAlternatives #Africa #RussiaAfrica

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🎥 LIVE: at 12:00 noon Moscow time, the Valdai Club will host a presentation of the Valdai Paper “Russia-Africa: Overcoming Challenges”.

https://vk.com/video-214192832_456239227

#GlobalAlternatives #Africa #RussiaAfrica

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🗣 On November 18, 2024, the Valdai Club hosted a presentation of the Valdai Paper “Russia-Africa: Overcoming Challenges”.

📷 Photo gallery

🎥 Video

#GlobalAlternatives #Africa #RussiaAfrica

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🌍 The Third African Boom and Its Challenges

On November 18, the Valdai Club hosted a presentation of an analytical Paper titled “Russia – Africa: Overcoming Difficulties”. 

💬 Oleg Barabanov, the moderator of the discussion, noted that relations between Russia and Africa are currently on the rise. Russia works with African countries in many areas, including political dialogue, economic cooperation, and cultural and humanitarian ties.

💬 The author, Vladimir Shubin, chief researcher at the Institute of African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences and honorary doctor of the University of the Western Cape (South Africa), lauded the Russia – Africa summit and conference of foreign ministers which was held in Sochi this month, saying “things are not just announced, but also done.” Speaking about the history of Russian-African relations, he pointed out that Russia never really left Africa, but in the 1990s, economic and cultural cooperation suffered greatly. Today, Shubin emphasised, it is not only a matter of memory, but also of serious economic opportunities and similar positions on international issues. Our ties persist despite considerable pressure.

💬 Sanusha Naidu, Senior Research Fellow at the South African Institute for Global Dialogue, briefly outlined some of the problems in relations between Russia and South Africa. It should be noted that relations with the West are still important for South Africa, and this affects the way political science and history are taught there. Despite this, according to Naidu, there is an interesting dynamic in relations with Russia. “We have common goals,” she is convinced.

💬 Aliou Tounkara, President of the Russian House in Mali, pointed out that Russia is a strategic partner for his country, relations with which will definitely continue to develop. The Soviet Union once played a key role in helping Mali gain independence, and the republic has a strong memory of cooperation with it. We should not forget about humanitarian aid from the Russian Federation, as well as educational and cultural cooperation, which remain highly significant.

💬 Dareskedar Taye, Leading Researcher at the Institute of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, noted that Russian-African relations are determined primarily by the dynamics emanating from Russia. During the Cold War, ties between Russia and Africa were close, but after that, there was a certain decline in relations due to political changes. Now Russia is reconsidering its role on the global stage, and against this background interaction is intensifying again.

💬 Alexander Balezin, Chief Researcher at the Central Asia Institute, at the World History Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, believes that we are currently experiencing a third African boom. At the same time, Russian society has relatively poor knowledge of the African continent. “We need to spread information about Africa more widely,” the expert said.

https://valdaiclub.com/events/posts/articles/the-third-african-boom-and-its-challenges/

#GlobalAlternatives #Africa #RussiaAfrica

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