Russia, contrary to the assertions of the West, does not close itself off from the world and actively participates in international life. This opinion was shared with Izvestia by representatives of the African parliaments participating in the second international parliamentary conference Russia-Africa on March 19. Foreign politicians are actively declaring friendship with Moscow, common goals and work to establish a multipolar world. About how the first day of work of the parliamentarians went and what agreements were reached on this site – in the material of Izvestia.
“What kind of isolation are we talking about?”
From March 19 to March 20, Moscow is hosting the second Russia-Africa international parliamentary conference, which is attended by guests from more than 40 African countries. The place of action was not chosen by chance – the building of the State Duma is located nearby, and the event is being held under its auspices. Parliamentarians from different countries have already managed to hold a number of bilateral meetings with the leadership of the Russian lower house: before the start of the conference, the speaker of the State Duma met with the Chairman of the National Assembly of Zimbabwe, Jacob Mudenda, the head of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of the Congo, Pierre Ngolo, and the speaker of the National Assembly of South Africa, Nosivive Mapisa-Nkakula.
Several hundred representatives of the continent took part in the first day of the conference. The guests themselves enjoyed the opportunity to talk to Russian journalists with great pleasure: a number of African politicians even turned to an online translator to tell media representatives about their attitude towards Russia. However, some of them even promised to learn Russian
I already know “thank you” and “hello”. So, it’s up to the small, – one of the members of the Parliament of South Sudan told Izvestia.
On the whole, the majority of those present were in favor of the further development of relations with Moscow, which had previously been at a high level.
“Our visit today suggests that we will continue to build further cooperation between the parliaments of Uganda and the Russian Federation, and in different areas. Our main interest is, of course, agriculture and technological cooperation,” said Ugandan parliamentarian Noeleen Kisembo.
Kampala expects to export coffee and fruits to Russia, she added. The representative of the legislative branch of Burundi, Marie Rose Ndayishimiye, added that her country’s participation in the event indicates strong friendship and cooperation between the two countries, and Burundian deputies expect to learn from the experience of Russian parliamentarians in the legislative field and managerial work.
The Secretary General of the Pan-African Youth Union, Ahmed Bening, in turn, added that the Russian Federation remains an important political player, despite the sanctions and pressure from the West.
“We see Russia as a friend and an important participant in international life,” he remarked in an interview with Izvestia. “There are a lot of foreign countries here. What kind of isolation are we talking about?
“Simple Equal Relations”
The State Duma hopes that the conference will strengthen parliamentary cooperation with African countries against the backdrop of the emergence of a multipolar world. On the first day of the conference, the participants had time to discuss cooperation in the field of science and education, as well as responses to economic challenges.
The event will last only two days, and its main “point” will be the plenary session of the international parliamentary conference on March 20 on the topic: “Russia – Africa in a multipolar world”, where Vladimir Putin is expected to speak, according to the Kremlin website.
First Vice Speaker of the State Duma Alexander Zhukov during his speech at the site stated: the Russian Federation and the countries of the African continent should establish an exchange of legislative experience in order to create conditions for building up mutually beneficial partnerships.
- In contrast to this confrontation by Western countries, most African countries are friendly towards Russia. We have developed simple equal relations with almost all countries of the continent. Africa did not succumb to Western sanctions hysteria, and during five votes at the UN General Assembly in 2022, despite tremendous pressure from the United States and Western countries, 20 African countries never spoke out against Russia,” said Alexander Zhukov.
In addition, a number of new areas of cooperation were proposed. Thus, Russia will open a trade representative office in Ethiopia in the second quarter of 2023, and work is also underway to establish a trade representative office in Nigeria, said Vasily Osmakov, First Deputy Head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation. Separately, the department reported that the Russian Federation intends to create its own leasing company in Africa, while it is planned to expand the insurance limits of the Russian Export Credit and Investment Insurance Agency (EXIAR) for African countries.
Social issues were also discussed. Thus, Deputy Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation Konstantin Mogilevsky noted that the number of state-funded places in Russian universities for students from African countries for the upcoming 2023-2024 academic year has been doubled to 4.7 thousand places.
However, the event itself is rather preparatory in nature – the main focus is on organizing the second Russia-Africa summit, which will be held on July 27-28 in St. Petersburg. Recall that the first meeting of Vladimir Putin with African leaders in this format was held in 2019 in Sochi.
