MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday opened the third Russia-Africa Summit in Moscow, hosting delegations from 48 African countries as the Kremlin pushes to expand its influence across the continent and cast itself as a leader of a emerging multipolar world order.
The two-day gathering, held October 28–29, 2026, brought together representatives from 48 of Africa’s 54 nations, including roughly 20 heads of state. Kremlin foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov said 22 African countries were represented by their leaders. Putin and Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye, the current African Union chair, co-chaired the plenary session.
Speaking at the opening, Putin framed the summit as an “organic part of a global transformation” and said Western domination was coming to an “irreversible end.”
“We are witnessing a multipolar world becoming a reality a trend that is both objective and irreversible,” Putin said. “The era when the destinies of entire continents were determined by a narrow bloc of states is coming to an irreversible end. It is being replaced by a more just world, in which the voices of all nations participating in international affairs must be heard.”
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov similarly framed the event around restoring Africa as an influential global center, according to summit details.
The summit’s discussions centered on setting cooperation priorities through 2029, covering energy, trade, investment, food security, education and security diplomacy. The program included summit sessions, bilateral meetings and talks with leaders of African regional organizations, alongside the Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum.
Putin was scheduled to meet several African leaders, including Egypt’s Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Ethiopia’s Abiy Ahmed. Participants were expected to adopt a final declaration and a Russia-Africa Partnership Forum action plan covering 2027–2029. A separate declaration on cooperation in the civilian use of artificial intelligence was also planned, along with intergovernmental and interagency agreements in several sectors.
Trade and investment were among the central issues. Ushakov said trade between Russia and African countries exceeded $27 billion in 2025, compared with around $16.8 billion in 2019, when the first Russia-Africa Summit was held in Sochi. Transport and logistics were also on the agenda, with both sides discussing ways to expand trade routes, improve connections and increase the range of goods exchanged.
Energy remains one of the most developed areas of Russian-African cooperation. One of the largest projects is Egypt’s El Dabaa nuclear power plant, being constructed by Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom. The summit forum also included discussions on nuclear energy, conventional power generation, renewable energy, mining and the development of energy infrastructure.
Agriculture has become another major part of the relationship. Putin emphasized that Russia delivers grain and fertilizers to more than 40 African countries and stands ready to expand supplies. After the 2023 summit in St. Petersburg, Moscow delivered 200,000 metric tons of grain free of charge to Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, the Central African Republic and Eritrea, fulfilling a commitment announced by Putin. This year’s talks were expected to cover grain and fertilizer supplies as well as agricultural technology, food processing and logistics.
Putin also called for strengthening Africa’s role in decision-making at the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group to meet the continent’s needs.
The summit marks a renewed Kremlin effort to bolster ties with a continent of nearly 1.6 billion people that is increasingly assertive on the global stage. Africa’s 54 nations make up the largest voting bloc at the United Nations.
As Russia competes with the United States, Europe and China for greater influence across Africa, it has relied on military contractors to strengthen its sway in many areas, from the economy to security and politics. Across the Sahel region, militaries that seized power citing security failures have severed ties with longtime Western security allies and turned to Russia. They first welcomed the Moscow-backed Wagner private mercenary group before it was replaced by the Africa Corps under the direct command of the Russian Defense Ministry.
In August, Russia’s Africa Corps military contractor helped Niger’s junta quickly defeat a mutiny by a group of young troops in the country’s capital. It is not known how many Russian mercenaries are in the Sahel’s three junta-led countries of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, but varying estimates put the number between 1,700 and 2,000. In the Central African Republic, there have been around 1,000 Russian private contractors.
The Moscow gathering follows earlier summits held in Sochi in October 2019 and St. Petersburg in July 2023. At the 2023 summit, participating countries adopted a declaration setting priorities for political, economic, security and humanitarian cooperation, and leaders agreed to hold the summit every three years. Between summits, Russia and African countries developed a ministerial-level format, with the first ministerial conference held in Sochi in 2024 and a second meeting in Cairo in December 2025.
The Moscow summit will review implementation of those earlier agreements while setting priorities through 2029.
