Abramova Meets African Diasporas in Connection with Russia-Africa Summit

On February 27, Director of the Institute of African Studies under the Russian Academy of Sciences and member of the Organizing Committee of the Russia-Africa Summit, Professor Irina O. Abramova, held a special meeting with leaders of the Union of African Diasporas (UAD) in Russia. The meeting discussed some aspects of the forthcoming Russia-Africa Summit.

Professor Abramova briefed them on the preparations and other related events for the Summit, further stressed that the second gathering is highly considered as the most important event on the Russian-African foreign policy agenda.

She, however, urged them to pay particular attention to identifying potential business agencies and organizations in order to make necessary preliminary coordination, and to develop comprehensive cooperation with them. In the context of the changing geopolitical situation, the goal of the upcoming summit is to make transition unto a qualitatively new stage of multifaceted cooperation between Russia and Africa.

In addition, they had a substantive discussion on important issues concerning the challenges in development of the Russian-African relations, including in the context of forthcoming Russia-Africa Summit scheduled for late July in St. Petersburg, the second largest city in the Russian Federation.

The meeting also deliberated on the possibility of promoting forums for academic and youth activities. These will tremendously enhance useful contributions to the envisaged common bilateral friendship. In relation to this, emphasis was placed on achieving overwhelming results in this sphere of public diplomacy.

During the meeting, the leaders of the Union of African Diasporas (UAD) rea rmed their mutual commitment to intensify networking for African participants for the July Summit which aims at consolidating and expanding mutually bene cial cooperation in trade, economic, humanitarian and other elds.

The meeting was attended by Professor Zenebe Kinfu Tafesse at the Moscow International Univer- sity, President of Union of African Diasporas (UAD) and Leader of the Ethiopian Community Russia; Dr Maurice Okoli, President of the Nigerian Community Russia; Dr Noel Anderson, Acting President of the Ghanaian Community Russia (GhCR); Dr Masambah Kah from Gambia and a few other African representatives in the Russian Federation.