On September 11, 2023, the first Council for Foreign and Defense Policy’s Lecture took place at the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs of the HSE University. The experts discussed Russian-African relations in the context of increasing the “agency” of Africa. The event was attended by Denis Degterev, Professor of the School of International Affairs at the HSE University, Maya Nikolskaya, researcher at the Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at the MGIMO University, and Andrey Maslov, Director of the HSE’s Center for African Studies. The discussion was moderated by Fyodor Lukyanov, Chairman of the Council’s Presidium and editor-in-chief of the “Russia in Global Affairs” Journal.
On July 26, 2023, a military coup took place in Niger, overthrowing President Mohamed Bazoum and forming the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland, headed by Abdourahamane Tchiani. A month later, French President Emmanuel Macron announced the withdrawal of the French military from Niger. In their media comments, experts of the Center for African Studies of the HSE University analyze the events in Niger.
On August 25, 2023, the RIAC round table on the results of the BRICS summit, which took place in South Africa on August 22-24, 2023, was held at the Izvestia Media Center. Andrey Maslov, Director of the Center for African Studies, spoke about the results of the XV BRICS Summit and the prospects for the organization's development through the creation of new institutions and admission of new members.
On December 15 2022, HSE Center for African Studies in partnership with the company Innopraktika held the round table « Russia-Africa: Digital Transformation of Public Administration » and presented there the concept of the e-Governance Knowledge Sharing Hub for Africa. The experts discussed suggestions regarding the contents of the e-Governance Knowledge Sharing Programme and presented reports on the prospects of cooperation with African countries in the digital markets.
There is major potential for economic and humanitarian cooperation between Russia and African countries. Particularly, Russian organisations and universities can help transfer competencies and knowledge in the fields of agriculture, energy, industrial production, environmental management, climate change, and public administration. Experts and representatives of African embassies in Russia discussed these issues at the round table ‘Russia-Africa Sharing Knowledge’ hosted by HSE University.
