Delegations from some 16 African countries descended on St Petersburg for the second Africa – Russia Summit last week. The aim of the conference is to strengthen Afro-Russian relations, as President Vladimir Putin looks for allies abroad.
Despite the recent cancellation of the UN-brokered Black Sea Grain Deal, the embattled Russian leader has promised this will not affect crop deliveries to African countries.
Putin has pledged thousands of tonnes of grain to the affected countries for free.
Also high on the agenda was what Putin calls “the fight against neocolonialism”. He went on to laude the “commitment of all our states to the formation of a just and democratic multipolar world order”.
The conference marked an important step in the run-up to the BRICS Leaders’ Summit in South Africa next month, and was attended by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, International Relations Minister Naledi Pandor, and other key delegates.
