African leaders began arriving in St. Petersburg today, Wednesday, to attend the "Russia-Africa" forum summit scheduled for July 27 and 28. This second Russia-Africa Summit will commence in two days in St. Petersburg.
This morning, the President of the Economic Community of West African States, Guinea-Bissau's Umaro Sissoco Embaló, arrived along with Burundi's President Évariste Ndayishimiye leading a high-level delegation, and the President of the Central African Republic, Faustin-Archange Touadéra. Previously, Russian Presidential aide for international affairs, Yuri Ushakov, confirmed the participation of 49 African countries out of 54 at the summit.
St. Petersburg will host the second Russian-African Economic Forum this week, aimed at enhancing strategic relations between Russia and African nations and elevating them to a new level. The forum aims to diversify areas of Russian-African cooperation and set the course for the long-term development of these relationships, alongside a large-scale exhibition and workshops.
Western diplomats have reportedly been "literally discouraging African states from traveling to Russia on a daily basis, bluntly demanding that African countries choose a camp – 'either you are with us or you are against us,'" according to Oleg Ozerov, Chair of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum Secretariat.
Comoros President Azali Assoumani, the current chair of the African Union, noted at the Russia-Africa summit that complaints leading Russia to end the Black Sea Grain Agreement should be listened to in search of a solution. According to the Russian news agency, Assoumani stated, "I should not say that Russia is right or wrong. They acted for their own reasons. Now we need to listen to them to try to move forward."
