The majority of African nations' leaders have chosen not to attend the upcoming Russia-Africa summit, with 38 out of 55 countries opting not to send their heads of state, The Moscow Times reported on July 25.
The summit, intended to showcase Russia's diplomatic push to increase influence on the continent, is taking place amidst a significant boycott: only 17 out of 55 African countries will be represented by their leaders at the event scheduled for July 27-28.
Read also: First Stalin, now Putin — Russia destroys Odesa’s historic Transfiguration Cathedral for second time — video
Yury Ushakov, an assistant to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, stated that an additional 10 African countries will send their prime ministers, and roughly half of the summit participants will be represented by lower-level delegations.
Russian Foreign Ministry Special Envoy Oleg Ozerov responded to the boycott saying, "We won't kick up a fuss because, firstly, they might have other pre-planned events requiring the participation of heads of state; and secondly, those who could attend, attended."
Read also: ‘They stress me out’ – Lukashenko complains to Putin about Wagner’s wishes to march on Warsaw
Despite the significant no-show, Putin plans to hold personal meetings with each of the African leaders who do attend the summit. He is expected to engage with presidents from Egypt, Mozambique, Burundi, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Eritrea, the Central African Republic, Libya, Cameroon, Senegal, South Africa, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, and Congo.
The Kremlin has announced that Putin will deliver a keynote speech at the summit, talking about a "new world order" founded on "multipolarity and equality" among all nations.
Read also: ‘Paralyzed’ Putin did nothing despite knowing of Wagner rebellion in advance – Washington Post
Putin's recent article on Russia-African relations may be an effort to mitigate the damage to both Russia's standing and his own reputation in Africa, caused by Russia's withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which allowed Ukrainian grain alleviate food security risks in a number of African countries.
We’re bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron!
Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Prize-Highlight on July 26th, 2023 at 16:04 UTC »
This is all a non-issue. African head of states have been pushing back against these kinds of summits because they're completely inefficient. How could 54 heads of state, each with their own priorities, which priorities conflict with one another, sit in a room with another head of state (be it Russia or the US) and expect any meaningful conversation to be had?
The new MO is to appoint a couple of nominees (and if you look at the list, all regions of Africa, East, West, South, North and Central, are represented) who will negotiate on behalf of the continent.
The Russia-Africa summit is the first time that Africa is organizing itself this way, but it has nothing to do with a dislike for Russia or with political positioning with respect to the Ukraine conflict.
Expect something similar with other Africa-X summits in the future.
any-name-untaken on July 26th, 2023 at 13:18 UTC »
Attending at head-of-state level (I've added the African GDP ranking out of 54 out of personal interest):
Egypt(1), South Africa(3), Libya(13), Congo(15), Uganda(16), Cameroon(17), Senegal(19), Burkina Faso(20), Mali(21), Mozambique(24), Zimbabwe(27), Burundi(43), Eritrea(45), Central African Republic(49), and Guinea-Bissau(50).
iced_maggot on July 26th, 2023 at 13:04 UTC »
The ones whose heads of state are not attending directly will be sending their delegations instead by the way. It’s not as though they are boycotting the summit altogether.