Russia-Africa Summit Signals ‘Growing Economic Importance Of Africa On World Stage’ – Ramaphosa

Dear Fellow South African,

Last week, I led a government delegation to the first Russia-Africa Summit, convened in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi.

For two days, heads of state from 43 African countries and their host, President Vladimir Putin, discussed how to increase trade and cooperation between the Russian Federation and Africa.

The summit was preceded by a Business Forum attended by investors and business people looking at ways to scale up investment in various countries on the African continent.

The Summit was a sign of the growing economic importance of Africa on the world stage. The summit took place on the back of the 7^th Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Yokohama in August.

The G20 countries launched their Compact with Africa in 2017 to promote private investment in Africa.

What we are witnessing is a dramatic rebalancing of the relationship between the world’s advanced