MOSCOW, February 1. /TASS/. Instability in a number of African countries will not be a hindrance to holding this year’s Russia-Africa summit. Only the novel coronavirus pandemic may cause some adjustments to these plans, the head of the Russian International Affairs Council, Andrey Kortunov told TASS.
"Russia may well play the role of a key provider of stability. African leaders frequently turn to Russia for assistance in maintaining security. In this particular case, as far as the summit is concerned, it will be an additional incentive, rather than an impediment," Kortunov said.
At the same time, the analyst called for bearing the pandemic in mind.
"The first [Russia-Africa] summit was held before the coronavirus pandemic. It formulated some ambitious tasks and plans, which now require some adjustments to take into account the coronavirus," he said. "In 2019, there was much hope for economic cooperation and investment activity. It goes without saying that Covid has introduced some changes to these plans."
Kortunov said that the main problem was not the pandemic as such, but its effects.
"For instance, at a certain point, the pandemic caused the demand for African oil and gas to shrink. Consequently, some projects involving Russian energy companies had to be put on the back burner. Now they are coming to the forefront again, but the timetable has changed," the analyst said.
He sees various options for holding the summit, including the virtual and hybrid modes. A great deal will depend on the pandemic situation.
"It is to be hoped the African countries will not turn out to be another epicenter of soaring infection rates. In the light of the low vaccination levels in most African countries, this is a possibility. If it happens, then not only the summit, but many other events Africa is getting ready to host in the second half of this year may be called into question," Kortunov concluded.
On Tuesday, Russia’s special presidential representative for the Middle East and African countries, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, told TASS that the date and venue of a second Russia-Africa summit had not been set yet. It should not be ruled out that the summit will be virtual.