On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin will take part in the international parliamentary conference "Russia - Africa in a multipolar world," held in Moscow under the auspices of the State Duma.
More than 40 official delegations from African countries are attending the event. Russia is represented by deputies and senators, heads of federal and regional authorities. The meeting is also attended by representatives of scientific and educational and expert communities, and entrepreneurs.
The Duma pointed out that the conference aims to strengthen parliamentary cooperation with African countries in the context of establishing a multipolar world, developing relations and elaborating common approaches to legal regulation in the economy, science, and education and security.
The event will last for two days. A plenary session will be held on March 20. On March 19 round tables with Russian and African parliamentarians and experts were held, as well as a discussion in the format of a business breakfast. Discussion topics included "Indivisible Security," "Neocolonialism of the West," "Parliamentary Support to Cooperation in Science and Education," "Legislative Responses to Economic Challenges."
Speaker of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin met with his colleagues from the Republic of Congo, Mali, Central African Republic, Burkina Faso and some other countries. According to the chairman of the lower house of the Russian parliament, it is planned to make the conference an annual one.
Friendly relations
According to Yuri Ushakov, an aide to the Russian president, the conference is a preparatory event for the second Russia-Africa summit, which is scheduled to take place in St. Petersburg in late July. The first such summit was held in Sochi in October 2019.
At that meeting, Putin noted that Russia and Africa were linked by ties of traditionally friendly relations. He pointed out that Moscow has consistently supported the national liberation movement of the peoples of Africa, made a significant contribution to the establishment of young states and the development of their economies and the creation of combat-ready armed forces. The president stressed that the development of relations with the countries of the continent and their regional organizations is one of the priorities of Russia's foreign policy.
The Russian head of state is continuing this course now: he regularly communicates with his colleagues from Africa both over the phone and in person, sends them congratulations and offers assistance - as was the case, for example, with Russian fertilizers seized in European ports because of sanctions. Putin has said that Russia is ready to hand them over to developing states free of charge.
The first summit was also preceded by a Russia-Africa international conference, held in Moscow in 2019.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS