The First Ministerial Conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum

Photo: MFA

Press release on the First Ministerial Conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum:

On November 9-10, Sochi hosted the First Ministerial Conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum at Sirius University.

Instituted by a decision of the 2nd Russia-Africa Summit in St Petersburg in July 2023, this new dialogue format is called on to become a certain coordinating mechanism for implementing objectives set by the heads of state and government.

Along with heads of foreign policy agencies and executive agencies of integration associations, the event brought together sectoral ministers as well as representatives of parliamentary, public, academic and business circles of Russia and African countries, with over 1,500 people attended the event.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov chaired a plenary session, the conference’s high-priority event that involved 54 heads of official delegations from African states and regional integration associations. At the beginning of the plenary session, they read out greetings from the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and Chair of the African Union – President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani. 

The ministers coordinated their positions on key issues of the international agenda as well as the Russian-African agenda, prioritising the implementation of the action plan of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum for 2023-2026. Also, they specified and coordinated long-term guidelines for expanding mutual collaboration still further.

Four joint statements, including a political statement as well as three sectoral statements on international information security, counter-terrorism measures and the peaceful use of outer space formalised common approaches towards addressing global problems and expanding cooperation with a focus on quality preparations for the 3rd Russia-Africa Summit.

The conference’s packed business programme, including 20 panel sessions and specialised events, provided an additional impetus for diverse mutually beneficial cooperation. Experts and high-ranking guests discussed various high-priority issues in great detail, including food security and collaboration in the agro-industrial sector, training specialists for the real economy, geological prospecting, digitalisation, and cooperation in education, healthcare and youth policy. Representatives of the Eurasian Economic Commission and various African associations discussed mutual integration issues. Elaborating on the provisions of the Declaration of the 2nd Russia-Africa Summit, the sides held specialised meetings on international information security, counter-terrorism efforts, and the prevention of an arms race in outer space. Representatives of Russian and African media outlets took part in an event on measures to combat the manifestations of neo-colonialism.

Sergey Lavrov met separately with most African delegations on the sidelines of the conference.

The officials signed an extensive package of memorandums and agreements between Russia and a number of African states.

Photo: MFA

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s answer to questions during a closing ceremony of the Ministerial Conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum, Sochi, November 10, 2024.

Irina Abramova, the head of the Institute for African Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences, a conference moderator: We are here again in Sochi, where the first Russia-Africa summit in 2019 sent a powerful message to the African peoples (and not only them) that our country sees Africa as a key strategic partner.

In 2023, at the second summit in St Petersburg, we saw an important transition from broad declarations and statements to concrete steps in our African policies, and a detailed 2023-2026 Action Plan for the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum was put together. The mechanism for holding annual ministerial conferences is among its key elements. Today, we are concluding the first one of them.

Did we manage to turn this new form of cooperation into a platform to identify the most promising areas for interaction while also overcoming a backlog of challenges?

Sergey Lavrov: I believe we have accomplished quite a lot. We have adopted documents - a Joint Statement, which includes a general overview of the international situation and the state of affairs in our partnership in areas such as the economy, social matters, investment, security, counterterrorism, and other newly arisen challenges, as well as cultural, educational, and humanitarian areas. These are supported by specific agreements in each of these areas, which create a series of roadmaps that will be advanced in the near future, including as part of preparations for the second ministerial conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum. So far, our African colleagues have not sent out invitations, but it is scheduled to take place next year. We are looking forward to it. We’d be delighted to convene anywhere in Africa our friends choose to invite us.

Certainly, the decision made by the leaders in St Petersburg in 2023 regarding annual ministerial sessions imposes significant responsibility on us. In addition to foreign ministers, other members of our respective governments and businesses are involved. Since foreign ministries in all countries coordinate processes of intergovernmental relations, our objective is to avoid delays or disruptions and to help speed up contacts across all areas.

One such objective that we outlined which was brought up during all bilateral meetings with my African friends concerns the importance of moving away from reliance on global mechanisms that are controlled by our “colleagues” from the West. We all had the chance to clearly see (and to discuss extensively) that the “globalisation” that the West has long touted as a perfect model for the global economy is now being dismantled by the West itself. The ongoing economic fragmentation is driven by sanctions and over-reliance on the US dollar.

A colleague of mine pointed out a phenomenon known as weaponisation of payments. All these issues are interconnected. The principles that the West used to line up and to promote the globalisation, such as fair competition, property rights, the presumption of innocence, and other core tenets of a market economy, have been dismantled and obliterated by the West itself in recent years. Sanctions have wiped out the erstwhile sacrosanct principles of capitalism. As a result, the global economic fragmentation is rife and includes Eurasia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

People are looking for ways to expand their respective economies, to address social issues, and to meet the needs of their people making sure that payment, supply and transport chains operate independently of the whims of our Western “colleagues” and the terms and conditions set by the IMF (if we stay focused on the continent) that are designed to keep the continent as far away from industrialisation as possible.

Raw materials still form the bulk of Africa’s exports, while value-added benefits are realised elsewhere, mainly at Western factories and markets. This is plain and simple unfair.

We discussed the situation and made attempts to analyse it. In 1960, the Soviet Union spearheaded the adoption of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, sparking a powerful awakening across Africa. Colonialism was almost eradicated. Yet some remnants persist, despite UN General Assembly resolutions calling for the full liberation of former colonies. Our African partners are well aware of this. Former colonial powers continue to hold territories and are reluctant to return them to the people who live there.

We’re witnessing a new wave of resistance to neocolonialism which is using trade, economic, and financial practices that prevent African countries from fully controlling their abundant natural resources. This process includes not just processing of the facts, but also creating mechanisms that will clear the way for Africa’s rapid development, industrialisation, and use African resources to create new jobs in Africa rather than in the West. I believe there’s a consensus regarding the fact that this process is underway. How can Russia help? Since the Soviet era, following decolonisation, we built industrial enterprises and infrastructure in Africa to promote social well-being and education.

I assume you watched President Vladimir Putin’s address at the Valdai Discussion Club where he had the following to say, “We have virtually no disagreements with any African country. The level of trust and mutual affinity is high, mainly because the history of our relations with Africa has never been clouded by any shadow. We have never been involved in the exploitation of African peoples.”

Rest assured that this is where we stand today as well. Even more so, since our stance is even stronger now with the notable pause that took place after the Soviet Union ceased to exist and the new Russia engaged in developing its own statehood in the face of daunting budgetary challenges, is long since gone.

We used the past two decades to steadily build up our partnerships with Africa based on traditions laid down in the post-colonial period. We hope they contributed to building an independent economy and industry in many African countries.

In addition to the joint statement I just mentioned, we held a number of in-depth discussions on these topics which directly address the profound changes unfolding around the world, which, without a doubt, will culminate in creating a multipolar international order. The African continent must and will be one of its centres.

Question: Today, we addressed numerous issues concerning the future of our relations and the challenges currently faced by Africa and Russia amidst the ongoing transformation of the world order.

Mr Lavrov, as we reach the conclusion of our ceremony, what message would you like to convey to all the participants?

Sergey Lavrov: It’s embarrassing to be offering a formal message to my friends. Typically, we engage in an open dialogue, candidly expressing and sharing our concerns, and receiving honest answers.

Today, we not only exchanged praise, but also came up with a number of suggestions. However, this was done without any attempt to impose our own terms or to resort to blackmail. Such tactics are often observed in the actions of the West, which is desperately attempting to decelerate the powerful and objective trend towards establishing a multipolar world order, or ideally, to halt it. The West is reluctant to relinquish its hegemonic position. The methods employed by the West in its dealings with the Global Majority closely resemble colonial practices, albeit without the use of physical violence.

Yet, even today, the West occasionally engages in reckless ventures such as the invasion of Libya or the dismantling of Libyan statehood, leading to an outbreak of terrorism, which persists in Africa, particularly in the Sahara-Sahel region. If we consider neighbouring regions, we see Iraq, Syria, and beyond. Intimidation and coercion remain prevalent tactics employed by the West, including efforts to turn the Global Majority against the Russian Federation and China.

In contrast, we employ different methods. I have previously quoted President Vladimir Putin, who stated on November 7 that Russia had never engaged in the exploitation of African peoples.

We express our gratitude to those who, during this ceremony and throughout the meeting, kindly acknowledged the Soviet Union’s role in the decolonisation process.

We remain committed to working in the spirit that guided the first and second Russia-Africa summits. We shall prepare for the third summit and organise our ministerial conference within the framework of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum in this spirit as well.

I am confident that the tone of all the remarks that we heard today seeking to achieve a fair balance of interests serves as an example to follow for other entities, such as the G20 or the United Nations where our Western “colleagues” are often unwilling to make honest efforts and instead seek to impose their will upon other countries, frequently through the “privatised” UN Secretariat, where the West is disproportionately represented, particularly in the positions that shape the Organisation’s policy.

There will be no wishes or admonitions. I extend my heartfelt thanks to all my friends who have gathered here. I kindly request the participants representing their respective ministers to convey my warmest greetings and best wishes to my friends in their respective capitals. We have outlined numerous areas to focus on in the documents that we adopted today and during bilateral discussions, and we are committed to addressing all of them.

I wish to thank our moderator, the head of the Institute for African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, for her work. I am confident that, following a thorough review of the discussions, our academic colleagues will produce insightful analyses and valuable recommendations.

read more in our Telegram-channel https://t.me/The_International_Affairs