MOSCOW, October 28. /TASS/. The ongoing Russia-Africa summit in Moscow serves as a platform not only for communication among national leaders but also for exchanging experience and planning joint projects, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
"We wanted to give this year’s Russia-Africa Forum greater momentum, and we still want to do so. We want to make it more engaging and accessible. Of course, it is important for senior officials and heads of state and government to sit down together and exchange views, but that alone is not enough in today’s world. We wanted to make the forum more inclusive, accessible, substantive and focused. Our goal is to direct participants’ attention, both during this process and at our meetings, toward what we consider the key development priorities for the world, Russia, and African countries," the president said at the Russia-Africa summit.
"We also wanted to showcase the areas in which Russia, in our view, has achieved tangible results and made significant progress, as I mentioned in my address. We want to show that we are ready to share our experience with our friends, partners, and allies in African countries. We also want to draw the attention of the business community, media representatives, and my friends and colleagues who lead African countries and governments to the most important and promising areas for cooperation," he added.
Putin then invited forum participants to visit a thematic exhibition showcasing ongoing Russian-African projects and Russia’s advanced technologies, which Moscow is ready to share with its partners across the continent.
"We would like to invite you to visit the exhibition now and see what we have to offer in terms of cooperation, where we see the greatest potential, and where we expect our joint efforts to achieve the best results. I hope you will find it both interesting and useful," the Russian president concluded.
About the summit
The Russia-Africa summit is being held for the third time and, for the first time, in Moscow. The previous summit took place in St. Petersburg in the summer of 2023, while the inaugural summit was held in Sochi in the fall of 2019.
Russia’s relations with African countries have been marked by a longstanding atmosphere of friendship. Moscow maintains that, unlike Western countries seeking to preserve their remaining influence on the continent, Russia was never a colonial power in Africa. As a result, engages with its African counterparts without prejudice, treating them as equals and pursuing mutually beneficial partnerships.