The second Russia-Africa Summit will take place in St Petersburg’s Expo Forum from July 27-28, with leaders from the majority of African countries expected to attend. The Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum due to take place alongside it will provide a platform for business meetings. The Summit had originally been scheduled to take place in Addis Ababa in October 2022, but was postponed by Russia’s President Vladimir Putin last July The rescheduled summit was due to last four days, but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced that it will be limited to two due to “fine-tuning” of the programme. The organisers of the summit, Roscongress, describe the Summit as the “highest-level and largest-scale event in Russia-Africa relations” with the aim of bringing about a “new level of mutually beneficial partnership” between Russia and the continent. “The goal of the event is to promote efforts to strengthen comprehensive and equal cooperation between Russia and African nations across all areas of society including politics, security, economic relations, science and technology, and the cultural and humanitarian spheres,” say the organisers. The event follows in the footsteps of other “Africa +1” summits such as the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), Japan’s TICAD and the US-Africa Leaders’ Summit. The first Russia-Africa Summit took place on October 23 to 24 in Sochi, a resort on Russia’s Black Sea coast and was held under the motto “For Peace, Security and Development”, it was co-hosted by President Vladimir Putin and President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi of Egypt. Forty-five African heads of state and two vice-presidents were in attendance, along with 109 ministers and the heads of the African Union (AU) Commission, the African Export–Import Bank and a number of regional economic communities. Addressing the Summit, Moussa Faki Mahamat, chair of the AU Commission highlighted the principles of the Africa-Russia strategic partnership and its potential for cooperation in agriculture, natural resource development, industry, trade, infrastructure and energy, as well as in the areas of military, peace and political cooperation. A final declaration was adopted envisaging the holding of future summits every three years. The first Russia-Africa Summit was accompanied by a Russia-Africa Economic Forum, at the end of which 92 contracts and memoranda of understanding with a publicly disclosed value of $12.5 billion were signed. Some 569 meetings took place at the Forum, which was attended by more than 6,000 participants, including 1,100 representatives of international business, around 1,400 representatives of Russian business, over 1,900 members of official foreign delegations and over 300 Russian delegation members. It was decided to expand the 2023 edition of the Forum to include a humanitarian element. It will also include a large-scale exhibition and a platform for holding business meetings. Pre-summit preps Several events have been lined up ahead of the summit. Among them include the African Energy Chamber-Gazprom roundtable on natural gas which emphasized that natural gas does not represent a transitionary resource but rather the fuel of the future for Africa. During the roundtable held recently in South Africa, several speakers made a strong case for gas-directed investment and strengthened Africa-Russia cooperation. Meanwhile, a number of countries across the continent have kicked off ambitious natural gas projects of their own aimed at monetizing resources, bolstering energy security and industrialization, while driving long-term socioeconomic growth. Mozambique, for instance, is leading several large-scale LNG developments. According to Michel Ussene, Executive Chairman, Mitra Energy, “Mozambique has already exported its first LNG cargo, representing a huge milestone for our country.” However, with the quantities of gas located in the far north of the country, over 2,200km from the capital city Maputo, Ussene stated that “We need to look at what to do with this gas, and we need to think out of the box. There is no better example than Gazprom, as they are bringing gas into their economy. The most interesting thing we have heard today is that most of the gas is used in the country and not exported. This is a gamechanger to know that Gazprom is selling more in-country than outside. This way, we can increase access and create jobs.” In West Africa, Nigeria has embarked on an ambitious gas agenda of its own, with projects being driven under the country’s ‘Decade of Gas’ initiative – a framework for amplifying investment and development across the entire gas value chain on the back of policy clarity. Despite offering significant resources, lack of investment has limited development in Nigeria. According to Dahiru Moyi, Advisor to the Minister of Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, “Africa does not have much funding, but we have resources. This is why it is important to come up with new approaches.” Moyi stated that traditionally, Gazprom has not been able to operate in Nigeria due to lack of policy, a trend which has now been eliminated with the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) in 2021. “Gazprom has the best intentions for Africa, and together, there can be some form of creative financing. We will welcome and be glad to see Gazprom come back to the negotiation table with Nigeria. Before, there was no gas policy in Nigeria or law. We have the PIA which is a clear path for how to operate in Nigeria,” Moyi added.
