St. Petersburg, July 27 President Russian Federation Vladimir Putin on Thursday will continue a series of bilateral meetings with leaders and representatives of African countries who are arriving in St. Petersburg to participate in the Russia-Africa summit, he will also attend a plenary session of the economic and humanitarian forum, and in the evening a solemn reception will be held for honored guests on behalf of the head of the Russian state.
The day before, the Russian leader had already met with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, with President of the New Development Bank Dilma Rousseff and with Egyptian President Abdul-Fattah Al-Sisi.
Business forum Traditionally, the second Russia-Africa summit is timed to coincide with the holding of an economic and humanitarian forum, the plenary session of which is scheduled for Thursday. As Yury Ushakov, Assistant to the President for International Affairs, told reporters, the forum will bring together the heads of major Russian and African companies, representatives of government agencies, the media and civil society, as well as leading experts and scientists.
A large pool of Russian and African entrepreneurs has been invited to the forum, representing such sectors of the economy as industry and metallurgy, exploration and mining, agriculture, finance and insurance, telecommunications and infrastructure, tourism and hotel business, high technology and pharmaceuticals.
Chairman of the African Union, President of the Union of the Comoros Azali Assoumani will take part in the plenary session of the forum together with Putin. As a result of the forum, a package of intergovernmental, interdepartmental documents, memorandums and commercial contracts is expected to be signed.
Bilateral meetings Prior to the forum's plenary session, Putin will hold a separate meeting with Assoumani and African Union (AU) Commission Chairman Musa Faki Mahamat.
Assumani was already in the northern capital in June — as part of a delegation of African presidents that came to discuss with Putin his peace initiative to resolve the crisis in Ukraine. The peace initiative includes South Africa, Zambia, Senegal, Congo, Uganda, Egypt and the Comoros chairing the African Union.
Following the plenary session, a talk is scheduled with President Filipe Nyusi of Mozambique, President Evaniste Ndayishimiye of Burundi and President Mnangagwa Emmerson of Zimbabwe.
As Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation Sergey Mochalnikov previously reported, Russia and Mozambique have good prospects for cooperation in the field of geological exploration and production of oil and gas, Russian companies are also ready to cooperate with Mozambican companies in the field of renewable energy. As follows from the documents published a few days before the summit on the official portal of legal information, Russia intends to sign agreements on cooperation in peaceful atom with Burundi and Zimbabwe.
On Thursday afternoon, the Russian head of state will also meet with Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni. Among the promising areas of cooperation between Russia and Uganda are energy, exploration, mining, science and education, telecommunications, cybersecurity, and agriculture. Projects related to cooperation in the field of the use of nuclear technologies for medicine and agriculture, as well as initiatives for future cooperation in launching a Ugandan satellite into Earth orbit are being discussed at various levels.
The Russian leader's schedule also includes a meeting with Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. The last negotiations of the leaders were held at the end of May in the Russian capital, then Putin said that Moscow and Asmara intend to sign a number of intergovernmental agreements, the countries have good prospects for cooperation in many areas.
In particular, Eritrea expressed interest in developing ties with the Ural and KAMAZ automobile plants.
In addition to bilateral meetings, Putin is scheduled to have a working breakfast on Thursday with the heads of leading regional organizations of African countries, Russian presidential aide Dmitry Ushakov reported. The event will be attended by representatives of the African Union, the East African Community, the Southern African Development Community, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, the Intergovernmental Development Organization, the New Partnership for Africa's Development, and the African Export-Import Bank. Mikhail Myasnikovich, Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission, will also take part in it, who will talk about plans to deepen the Eurasian Economic Union with the countries and integration associations of Africa.
In the evening, a solemn ceremony of meeting the delegations of African countries, which will arrive directly at the Russia-Africa summit, is planned. There will also be a solemn reception on behalf of the President of Russia.