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Putin invites young Africans to World Youth Festival in Sochi next spring

According to the Russian leader, in keeping with the existing tradition, Russia intends to continue providing assistance to African countries in building their national human resource capacity

MOSCOW, July 24. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin invited African youths to attend the World Youth Festival to be held in Sochi on February 29 - March 7, 2024.

Addressing Africa’s young generation in his article, "Russia and Africa: Joining Efforts for Peace, Progress and a Successful Future," published on the Kremlin website on Monday, Putin wrote: "I would like to seize this opportunity to invite our young African friends to the World Youth Festival, which will take place in Sochi, Russia, in March 2024."

The event, a large-scale international forum, will bring together more than 20,000 participants from more than 180 countries for what he said would be "an informal, friendly and open dialogue that is free from ideological and political barriers, racial and religious prejudice and would consolidate the young generation around the ideals of lasting and durable peace, prosperity and creative spirit."

According to the Russian leader, in keeping with the existing tradition, Russia intends to continue providing assistance to African countries in building their national human resource capacity.

"There are currently about 35 thousand students from the [African] continent in Russia, more than 6,000 of them receive Russian government scholarships. Each year, we increase the number of scholarships, promote paid higher education options and facilitate inter-university ties, which have gained significant momentum in recent times," he noted.

Putin wrote his article ahead of the second Russia-Africa Summit and Economic Forum that is slated for July 27-28 in St. Petersburg. The first such event was held in Sochi on October 22-24, 2019 under the slogan "For peace, security and development."

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