Center for African Studies participated in the First Ministerial Conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum

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

The Conference discussed key issues of Russian-African trade, economic, agricultural, digital and technological cooperation. Experts from the Center for African Studies provided organizational support to the event. Director Andrey Maslov moderated three sessions. 

"Knowledge Sharing: Capacity Building in e-Governance"

The session discussed issues of digital sovereignty, international cooperation in the field of digital development, and the benefits of using digital technologies in public administration.

Among the participants of the session were:

• Dr. Moctar Seck, Head of Innovation and Technology Sector at the UN Economic Commission for Africa;
• Anastasia Pavlenko, Deputy Executive Director, Director for Strategic Partnerships at Innopraktika, the company providing organizational support to e-Governance Knowledge Sharing Program;
• Tatenda Mavetera, Minister of Information and Communications Technology, Postal and Courier Services of the Republic of Zimbabwe;
• Mario Augusto da Silva Oliveira, Minister of Telecommunications, Information Technologies and Social Communication of the Republic of Angola;
• Alan Khubaev, Head of International Projects in Solar;
• Nkundwe Moses Mwasaga, Director General, Information and Communication Technologies Commission of the United Republic of Tanzania;
• Abiodun Omowunmi Essiet, Senior Special Assistant to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria;
• Monica Jane Musenero Masanza, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation of the Republic of Uganda;
• Moses Kunkuyu Kalongashawa, Minister of Information and Digitalization of the Republic of Malawi;
• Oleg Kapitonov, Director of the International Business Efficiency and Coordination Department, “Sberbank International”;
• Aboubacar Sidiki Douno, National Deputy Director, Direction of Information Technology and Digital Economy of the Republic of Guinea;
• Francis Mangouani Seck, National Сoordinator of the Digital Transformation Acceleration Project, Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Digital Economy of the Republic of the Congo;
• Bonheur Djerabe Djatto, Director of Information System, Commission of the Economic Community of Central African States.

“Trends and Prospects in Trade and Economic Cooperation”

The session “Trends and Prospects in Trade and Economic Cooperation” highlighted the main achievements of Russian-African trade and economic cooperation (bilateral trade volumes, dynamics of export and import supplies, etc.). The experts focused on the sectors most promising for the development of Russian-African cooperation (innovative ways of agricultural production, mining, nuclear power, personnel training).
Among the panelists were Thierry Patrick Akoloza, Minister of Trade and Industry of the Central African Republic, Dmitry Volvach, Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, René Awambeng, Managing Partner of Premier Investment Solutions, and others.

The session “Geological exploration - investing in a sustainable future”

The session “Geological exploration - investing in a sustainable future” was dedicated to the development of Russian-African dialogue in the field of subsoil use. African countries possess one of the richest volumes of mineral resources in the world. Russian experts are ready to share their experience in providing geological projects and ensuring prosperity in African countries. Alexander Kozlov, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation, Ousmane Abarchi, Minister of Mines of the Republic of Niger, and Mosa Mabuza, Chief Executive Officer of the Council for Geoscience (CGS) shared their views on this and other issues.

In addition, during one of the sessions, an expert and analytical handbook “Africa 2025: Prospects and Challenges” was presented. It was prepared by the Center's researchers for African officials to support them in strategic decisions on various aspects of policy in Africa.

The presentation was moderated by Valentin Bianki, a leading expert of the Center for African Studies at the HSE University. He spoke about the main goal of the handbook - to present to Africans Russian experts’ opinion on African countries development. He also shared his ideas on the prospects of the publication:

“We are planning to publish it annually and also to translate it into French and Russian.”

Vsevolod Sviridov, Deputy Director of the HSE University Center for African Studies, also took part in the presentation. Earlier he also participated in the “Young people in Russia and Africa: a glimpse into the future” session, where he spoke about the contribution of youth initiatives to contacts at the highest level.

The full video versions of the sessions are accessible via the link.