Andrey Maslov took part in the Russia-Africa Energy Summit
From September 29 to October 3, 2025, Andrey Maslov, Director of the HSE Center for African Studies and Coordinator of the e-Governance Knowledge Sharing Program, participated in the Russia-Africa Energy Summit in Cape Town, South Africa. The event took place within the African Energy Week 2025 organized by the Centre’s partner, African Energy Chamber.
The Summit aims to examine the strategic and mutual benefits of Russia’s growing role in oil and gas fields set against the G20 backdrop of energy security and sustainability with a focus on economic ties, infrastructure and technology.
The event was moderated by NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber. In his welcoming remarks, he underlined Russia’s leading role in pipeline construction and continuous support in African energy sector development:
“Russia-Africa cooperation in the field of high energy has always been fascinating. We can see Russian investments in countries like Algeria, those of Gazprom we can see in Libya, and those of Rosneft in Mozambique. There is nobody who builds a pipeline better than Russia. But beyond that, Russia has been providing consistent support for the continent when it comes to education and training”.
As Dmitry Poduev, Vice-Director of the International Cooperation Department of the Russian Ministry of Energy, pointed out, Russia has lots of knowledge and competences in oil & gas fields. It is developing fields in the Republic of Congo and Egypt, and also constructed pipelines in Nigeria in early 2000s. The goal of those efforts is to ensure the stable energy supply for the whole region of Central Africa. He admitted Russia commitment to help African countries fighting with energy poverty, as well as collaborate in the field of human development:
“In order to provide capacity building and create added value within the African states, Russia is ready to increase opportunities for African students studying in the energy field. We recognize that Africa is looking for a fresh and directly different approach to cooperation and Russia has always advocated alternative approach that is based on the concept of energy justice”.
Domingo Mba Esono, Deputy Minister of Hydrocarbons of Equatorial Guinea who graduated from Moscow State Mining University (MSMU), highlighted the longstanding cooperation between his country and Russia. He paid attention to the fact that many Equatorial Guinea’s students and officials were trained in Russia and can speak Russian fluently so this could be an incentive for Russian investors for deeper engagement in African energy markets.
“Russia has lots of capabilities, which Africa needs. So that’s why we’re inviting you to come to Africa so that we could continue fostering our bilateral cooperation,” – Domingo Esono said.
Nosizwe Nokwe-Macamo, Executive Chairperson for Raise Africa Investments, proposed some steps for both sides to enhance their energy cooperation:
“It should be a systematic, planned, multi-dimensional approach: at a business level, at a technical level and of course, at the governmental level”.
Among the other important things are providing African businesses with information on Russian technical developments, tightening of the ties between the national oil companies and development of academic exchanges.
Vladimir Aptekarev, Deputy Director General for Floating Power Energy Solutions at Rosatom, described Russia’s floating nuclear power units as a fast, green, and flexible solution to Africa’s power shortages. He also expressed hope for a soon breakthrough in Russia-Africa energy relations:
“We’re definitely moving to Africa as far as we love it and we want to be there for a long-term. We’re ready to bring new technologies that would be visible there within a few years already”.
Finally, Andrey Maslov, Director of the HSE University Centre for African Studies and Coordinator of the e-Governance Knowledge Sharing Program implemented with the support of “Innopraktika” company, highlighted the importance of education and digital transformation in Africa’s energy sector.
Answering to Moderator's question on the future of Russia-Africa energy cooperation in the next 5-10 years, Andrey Maslov pointed out that it is embodied "in digital transformation of the sector and enhancing governments’ capacities to control it, to control Africa’s own resources. Here I am talking about technologies on data collection & storage, protection of the critical infrastructure, etc."
He also presented a printed chapter of the book Africa 2025: Prospects and Challenges called African resources to African markets: making mining and energy work for Africa. With lots of calculations and statistical data provided, it analyzes key energy challenges faced by African countries, for example, lack of data at the governments’ disposal.
As Andrey Maslov said, “here we write a lot about sovereignty because this is what Africans really need. What Africa produces contributes a lot to the global markets. But at the same time, Africa imports more fuel that it produces. This is one of the challenges that need to be addressed”.
This year, as part of the African Energy Week, the Future Leaders Programme was launched. It aims to develop the next generation of energy professionals by providing access to industry leaders and policymakers. Students from five major South African universities had the opportunity to participate in the event, meet, and communicate with leaders of the energy industry. Following the programme’s results, three of the most active students were awarded with prizes. Andrey Maslov presented the prize for the second place by himself.
Remarkably, two students of the “International Relations” Bachelor’s program at the HSE Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs, participated in a two-month internship at the African Energy Chamber. The internship was organized as part of the cooperation agreement signed between the HSE University and the African Energy Chamber at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on June 19, 2025. During the internship, students took part in shaping the agenda and organizing the events of the African Energy Week.
Expert
Andrey Maslov
Director of HSE Centre for African Studies