St. Petersburg to Host 2nd Russia-Africa Summit, Economic Forum From July 27-28

ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik) - The Second Russia-Africa Summit and Economic and Humanitarian Forum will start on Thursday in St. Petersburg and run through Friday, gathering high-level Russian and African officials to discuss economic and security cooperation, as well as other areas of common interest.

The two-day summit will kick off at the ExpoForum Convention and Exhibition Centre at 9:00 a.m. Moscow time (06:00 GMT) on Thursday. The participants are expected to talk about energy, nuclear and space technologies, food security, fertilizer exports, geological exploration, new Russian-African logistic routes, business in Africa, artificial intelligence, infrastructure development, humanitarian issues, health care cooperation, their media partnership and other topics.

On the first day of the summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold meetings with the presidents of the Comoros, Mozambique, Burundi, Zimbabwe, Uganda and Eritrea on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa summit, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov has said. Putin will also hold a working breakfast with the heads of the African regional organizations, Ushakov added.

From July 28-29, Putin will meet with the presidents of a number of other African countries, including the Central African Republic, Cameroon, and Senegal, as well as hold a meeting with the chairman of the Libyan presidential council, according to the Kremlin aide.

The Russian leader is also set to hold talks with the South African, Guinea-Bissau and Congolese presidents and meet with the Burkinabe and Malian transitional period leaders.

On July 28, the Russian president will deliver a major speech and provide an assessment of the current state of the system of international relations at the plenary session of the Russia-Africa summit, the Kremlin aide has said, adding that 17 African leaders are scheduled to attend the session. The meeting's agenda includes a discussion of the African peace initiative on Ukraine, Ushakov said.

The talks will be followed by another plenary session in the form of a working lunch, attended by the vice presidents and ministers of different African countries, according to the Kremlin aide.

Putin said ahead of the Russia-Africa summit that Moscow intended to further develop relations with African countries by intensifying trade, investment and efforts in fighting poverty across the African continent, among other things.

"It is important that over the past few years, cooperation between Russia and Africa has reached new heights. We intend to continue moving in this direction, working to boost trade and investment, deepen cooperation and work together to address such pressing issues as the fight against poverty, training a modern workforce, ensuring food security and tackling climate change," Putin said in a telegram to participants and guests of the summit.

Russia will also help African nations strengthen national and cultural sovereignty, play a more active role in resolving regional and global challenges, and support African states in their efforts to seek social and economic stability and progress, Putin added.

The Kremlin has said it views the Russia-Africa summit as an important opportunity to discuss the Black Sea Grain Initiative and Russia's support for Africa, among other things. The summit participants are expected to sign a number of international and bilateral documents, and Moscow and the African nations are set to adopt a final declaration after the summit that will outline avenues to continue developing a multifaceted cooperation, the Kremlin aide said.

Additionally, the Kremlin said that all African countries had been subjected to an "unprecedented" level of pressure from the United States, France and other Western countries to prevent the upcoming Russia-Africa summit from taking place.