Russia opens Moscow summit with African leaders, pledges grain and vaccines
- Nearly two dozen African leaders are in Moscow for the third Russia-Africa summit since 2019.
- Putin promised to expand grain shipments to Africa and localise production of Russian medicines and vaccines.
- Amnesty International urged African officials to demand Russia stop recruiting Africans into its military.
A two-day Russia-Africa summit opened in Moscow on Wednesday, with the Kremlin calling African countries "natural allies" in building a world order no longer dominated by the West.
It is the third such summit since 2019. According to Russian officials, 48 African countries are taking part, 22 of them represented by their leaders. President Vladimir Putin was scheduled to hold around 20 one-on-one meetings with African heads of state.
For ordinary Nigerians, the main interest is what Moscow is offering. Putin told the gathering that Russia was "prepared to further expand the geographical reach of our agricultural product shipments" — a pledge that matters at a time when Black Sea attacks linked to the Ukraine war keep disrupting grain exports from Russia and Ukraine.
He also said Moscow plans to "localise" the production of Russian medicines and vaccines on the continent, and noted that the number of African students in Russia has risen by 50 percent since 2020.
Security ties and a rights warning
Moscow has deepened security ties with several African governments, especially in the Sahel, where Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso have moved away from France. Putin was due to meet Mali's Assimi Goita, whose government uses Russian paramilitaries in its fight against jihadists.
He was also scheduled to meet President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where fighting with the Rwandan-backed M23 movement continues despite a US-brokered truce last December. Rwanda is represented at the summit by Prime Minister Justin Nsengiyumva.
The summit has been clouded by reports of Africans being forcibly conscripted into the Russian army to fight in Ukraine. Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa have publicly raised alarm about their citizens.
In an open letter published Tuesday, Amnesty International urged attending leaders to demand that Russia "cease any ongoing and future recruitment of people from Africa and other foreign nationals into its military forces."
The Kremlin said 33 documents are expected to be signed, mainly on economic cooperation, along with a final declaration on deepening Russia-Africa ties and a separate statement on artificial intelligence. Russia also plans to open its 49th embassy in Africa, in Liberia.
What happens next
The summit is expected to close on Thursday with the final declaration. Nigerian officials have not said publicly what, if anything, was agreed on behalf of the country at the talks.
