Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will take part in the second ministerial conference of the Russia–Africa Partnership Forum, to be held in Cairo on December 19–20. The event will mark the first time the forum is hosted on African soil, the Russian Foreign Ministry noted.
According to Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, the conference will gather foreign ministers from African states, as well as heads of executive bodies from regional integration organizations. She said the meeting aims to give new momentum to the development of Russia–Africa cooperation and strengthen its truly strategic nature.
Officials are expected to review progress on key issues on the international and Russia–Africa agendas, with a special focus on implementing the 2023–2026 Action Plan of the partnership forum, adopted at the second Russia–Africa summit in St. Petersburg in 2023. “We will discuss interim results of the joint action plan’s implementation, and particular attention will be given to preparations for the third Russia–Africa summit in 2026,” Lavrov said earlier at a meeting of Russia’s Council of Regional Heads at the Foreign Ministry.
On the sidelines of the conference, a thematic event involving Russian and African agencies and organizations will also be held to explore the potential for trilateral cooperation between Russia, Egypt, and Africa in the fields of economy and education.
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin told TASS that separate meetings between Lavrov and his African counterparts, as well as the signing of several documents, are also planned in Cairo.
A major event in 2025
The foreign ministry described the Cairo meeting as a major event in Russia–Africa relations this year and a key stage in preparing for the third summit scheduled for 2026.
Established in 2019, the Russia–Africa Partnership Forum has already hosted two summits — in Sochi in 2019 and St. Petersburg in 2023 — along with the first ministerial conference in Sochi in November 2024. Moscow expects the Cairo conference to give fresh impetus to the broad and mutually beneficial cooperation between Russia and African nations.
Strategic partnership
Lavrov has repeatedly stressed that Russia’s engagement with Africa is strategic and remains one of the country’s top foreign policy priorities.
Trade, economic cooperation, and investment are expected to dominate the conference agenda. Lavrov noted that trade turnover with African countries has grown steadily, increasing by more than 50 percent since 2019 and surpassing $27 billion in 2024.
He said Russia is focused on expanding trade with sub‑Saharan Africa, boosting imports of African goods to the Russian market, and establishing reliable settlement mechanisms using national currencies. Vershinin told TASS that Russia is ready to help Africa in its pursuit of genuine economic sovereignty.
Russia has also expanded its diplomatic presence on the continent, opening new embassies this year in Niger, Sierra Leone, and South Sudan. Next in line are missions in The Gambia, Liberia, Togo, and the Comoros. Lavrov added that Moscow welcomes plans by Botswana and Togo to open their own diplomatic offices in the Russian capital.
Security challenges
Vershinin pointed out that progress in building a sustainable social, economic, and technological development architecture in Africa will remain difficult until the continent resolves urgent peace and security challenges.
“We are convinced that lasting solutions in conflict areas can only be achieved through the leadership of Africans themselves, and solely in their interests,” he told TASS. “We continue to support the core principle of ‘African problems — African solutions,’ as well as the African Union’s key 2063 Agenda goal of silencing the guns by 2030.”
The ministry also warned that security threats to Africa are exacerbated by what it described as the criminal actions of the Kyiv regime and its Western backers, who allegedly collude with local terrorist groups to destabilize the Sahel and carry out sabotage against Russia and other states’ interests.
Lavrov reaffirmed that Russia remains a longstanding and trusted friend of Africa. He said that values embedded in the Russian cultural code — collectivism, solidarity, and mutual support — resonate with Africa’s ubuntu philosophy: “I am because we are.” “On this solid foundation, we will continue to build our friendship and cooperation, respecting each other’s civilizational identities,” he said.
Lavrov added that Russia is genuinely welcomed across the continent. “Our friends in Africa tell us this regularly — and it’s important that we live up to their expectations,” he concluded.
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Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS