г. St. Petersburg. Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum.

Vladimir Lishchuk, Vice-President of the International Alliance of Russian Germans “Renaissance”, and Oleg Vikhman, General Director of the International Council of Russian Germans “Renaissance”, took part in the second Russia-Africa summit, which was held in the northern capital. The event was attended by official delegations from 48 countries and the continent’s five largest integration groupings: 17 presidents (Egypt, Senegal, South Africa, Rwanda, Comoros, Cameroon, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Libya, Congo, Burundi, Uganda, CAR, Mali, Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso, Eritrea), 5 prime ministers (Algeria, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Morocco, Mauritania) and 27 ministers and deputy heads of state of the remaining states. More than nine thousand participants and representatives of mass media from Russia and 104 foreign countries, about one thousand representatives of foreign business, more than two thousand – Russian, about 1.1 thousand representatives of foreign official delegations and more than 750 – Russian. The main topic discussed was not politics, but economics. On the one hand, advanced Russian technologies in medicine, geological exploration, NPP construction, as well as supply of agricultural and industrial products, and on the other hand – the unique nature, rich subsoil of Africa and its high recreational attractiveness. The centerpiece of the forum was the plenary session with the participation of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, Chairman of the African Union, President of the Union of the Comoros Azali Assoumani, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the African Export-Import Bank Benedict Orama and President of the New Development Bank Dilma Rousseff. As a result of the Forum, 161 agreements were signed (146 of them with foreign organizations and authorities), including three agreements signed by NAORC members. Most of the agreements have been concluded in the field of humanitarian cooperation. The event included a media forum, a congress of university rectors, a round table with the participation of the highest audit bodies of Russia and African countries, meetings within the framework of the youth program, sessions of the Creative Business Forum and the Healthy Society Forum. The food crisis was also emphasized in the declaration and statements of the leaders. Thus, the outcome document states that the parties will make joint efforts to ensure Africa’s long-term food security.