Trade and security are expected to be on the agenda as delegations and leaders from dozens of African countries gather in Moscow for a two-day summit with Russia.
asserted
delegations → expect → Russia
The third instalment of the Russia-Africa Summit will run through October 28–29 and will be chaired by Russian President Vladimir Putin and the current African Union chair, Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye.
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instalment → run → Putin
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Russia has boosted security and trade cooperation with African nations as it grapples with Western sanctions imposed in response to its war against Ukraine.
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it → expose → Ukraine
So who will be attending and what is at stake?
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what → attend → stake
Here’s what we know.
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we → ’ → what
The Russia-Africa Summit is a two-day diplomatic and economic meeting being held in Moscow on Wednesday and Thursday.
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Summit → hold → Wednesday
Leaders and delegations from 48 African countries are meeting to discuss bilateral cooperation spanning politics, defence and technology.
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Leaders → meet → politics
The first summit took place in October 2019 in Sochi, marking an unprecedented turn in Russian-African relations.
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summit → take → relations
The event’s official theme is Developing Mutually Beneficial Cooperation and “unlocking the potential of every African country”.
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theme → develop → country
More than 40 sessions and about 100 speakers will cover trade, investment, technology transfer, food and energy security, healthcare, education and youth exchange.
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sessions → cover → trade
Who is attending?
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Who → attend → ?
Representatives from 48 African countries will participate, as well as 22 heads of state, according to Kremlin presidential aide Yury Ushakov.
uncertain
Representatives → participate → Ushakov
Heads of state from 17 countries attended the last summit in 2023.
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Heads → attend → 2023
Fewer leaders came to the last two summits, compared with the first gathering in 2019, when 43 took part, a decline which Moscow blamed on Western pressure.
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Moscow → come → pressure
Russian President Putin is scheduled to meet with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
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Putin → schedule → counterpart
The guest list includes leaders closely tied to Russia’s growing security role in Africa, including Burkina Faso’s Ibrahim Traore and Niger’s Abdourahamane Tchiani.
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list → include → Traore
Kenya’s William Ruto, Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni and Namibia’s Netumbo Nandi-Ndatiwah are also expected, as well as Sudan’s Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed al-Menfi, the chairman of the Presidential Council of Libya.
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Ruto → expect → Libya
Russia has gained far more influence in Africa through security than trade, according to a report by the African Security Analysis group (ASA), a security consultancy.
uncertain
Russia → gain → group
Russia’s security presence has risen significantly in the region.
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presence → rise → region
In 2023, Russian forces, mostly from the Wagner Group, operated in only a few African countries, but the ASA now counts Russian missions or troops in at least nine countries.
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ASA → operate → countries
Trade between African countries and Russia has exceeded $28bn.
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Trade → exceed → 28bn
It was estimated to be about $16.8bn in 2019, when the first summit was held.
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summit → estimate → 2019
But trade is mainly concentrated in a few countries and overshadowed by that of China and the European Union.
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trade → concentrate → China
Russia’s strongest ties to the continent are in energy, fertilisers, defence and nuclear power, where the state-owned firm Rosatom has signed a string of agreements.
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firm → own → agreements
In 2023, Russia exported 200,000 tonnes of grain to Mali, Somalia, the Central African Republic, Burkina Faso, Eritrea and Zimbabwe.
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Russia → export → Mali
Why does this summit matter?
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summit → matter → ?
This is the first summit since 2023, so it will be an indicator of how far the relationship has developed and where it is heading, analysts say.
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analysts → develop → 2023
A final declaration and a Russia-Africa Partnership Forum plan should be adopted by the end of the Summit to cover 2027-2029.
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declaration → adopt → 2027
Analysts have said that meetings on the sidelines could be more important than the main event, as talks between African delegations and Russian defence officials can illustrate where Moscow plans to expand its military ties.
uncertain
Moscow → say → ties
The recruitment of Africans to fight in Ukraine could also be a growing problem for Moscow, as it has already caused diplomatic concern in countries such as Kenya.
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it → fight → Kenya
Amnesty International has used the run-up to the summit to raise the issue of Africans being recruited to fight with Russia.
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Africans → use → Russia
In an open letter, the directors of Amnesty’s African section urged leaders attending the summit to demand that Moscow end what the group describes as deceptive and coercive recruitment of Africans to fight in its war in Ukraine.
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group → urge → Ukraine
The Aporia
