World
World Bank, IMF and Africa’s Development
By Professor Maurice Okoli
Amid heightened criticisms and intense debates over several significant global issues including new financial architecture, economic diversification, growing debts and reforms, the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, on October 15 wrapped up their week-long annual meetings held under the theme “Global Action, Global Impact” in Marrakesh, Morocco in North Africa.
With the rapid geopolitical changes, it featured prominently finance ministers and central bank governors from 190 countries in desperate search of comprehensive mechanisms and suitable approaches to address the prevailing economic crisis across the globe. The coordinated annual meetings also reviewed its scope of geographical operations with particular emphasis on Africa.
Fundamentally Africa’s key drawbacks mostly mentioned in all the discussions are related to the system of governance, official policies and strategies, and persistent conflicts. Due to the severity of threatening conflicts combined with worsening insecurity and ineffective policies, speakers at the annual meetings reviewed with circumspection the economic performance in Africa.
The importance of this annual meeting particularly for Africa need not be over-emphasized. Of course, the popular paradox is that Africa has huge untapped resources including rich deposits of strategic minerals, the population is growing and now stands at 1.4 billion providing the human capital and yet that region is engulfed with abject poverty, lack of industrial infrastructure and technology, while agriculture largely remains at the rudimentary stage. It is impossible not to notice on the political map of the world – it is located roughly in the centre of the globe just on the equator and its huge expanse of territory.
Economic Picture
The global financial system “is now outdated, dysfunctional and unjust,” said a New York Times opinion column jointly written by Kenyan President William Ruto, African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina, African Union Commission chairman Moussa Faki and Patrick Verkooijen, chief executive of the Global Commission on
Adaptation.
It’s outdated because international financial institutions “are too small and limited to fulfil their mandate. Dysfunctional because the system as a whole is too slow to respond to new challenges, such as climate change. And unjust because it discriminates against poor countries,” the leaders wrote.
Often lenders of last resort, the IMF and the World Bank use billions in loans and assistance to buoy struggling economies and encourage countries operating in deficit to implement reforms they say promote stability and economic growth.
During a panel session in Marrakech second week of October 2023, African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development called for key reforms during a meeting of the Africa High-Level Working Group on the Global Financial Architecture, coordinated by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). The ECA has the mandate
to promote the economic and social development of its member states, foster intra-regional integration, and promote international cooperation for Africa’s development.
Their position, among others, was to strengthen the African voice on the global stage. This resounding call emphasized the need for a quota formula to increase the number share for Africa. The meeting expressed support for the establishment of an additional chair to represent African countries at the IMF Executive Board to amplify the region’s voice and representation.
The meeting further underscored the importance of scaling up both concessional and non-concessional financing priorities of African countries, including regional integration, infrastructure development and structural transformation. Also, there was the proposal for temporal suspension of debt service and to pause debt service payments in the event of climate-related disasters.
At the opening ceremony, IMF Chief Kristalina Georgieva in a speech stated that since 2020, successive economic shocks have led to the loss of $3.6 trillion of the global output, and that have pushed the IMF and the World Bank in hollowing for an enduring role in addressing the socio-economic challenges.
Fifty-seven per cent of the world’s poorest countries, home to about 30 per cent of the world’s population, will have to cut their public spending by $229 billion by 2029. Low and lower-middle-income countries will be forced to pay almost $500 million every day in interest and debt repayments from now until that year, according to her suggestion.
Role of the Financial Institutions
The African Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the Council of Europe Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, and the New Development Bank joined the World Bank in the collaboration agreement.
World Bank together with other nine multilateral development banks jointly seek to boost lending power to developing countries. These banks pledged to bolster collaboration in accelerating an appreciable, liveable world free of poverty. Under consideration is estimated $300 billion to $400 billion of additional lending capacity to help developing countries confront “a perfect storm of intertwined crises — from climate shocks and conflicts to pandemics and surging debt.”
They would also work to catalyze private-sector engagement. In addition, and as incorporated in the official document after the summit, the World Bank will be strengthening efforts to partner with the private sector, civil society, other multilateral institutions, and charitable organizations.
Some experts are of the view that the banks should also release emerging market data so private investors can better understand the actual risks and opportunities of investing in such markets. According to economic experts, exploring ways to directly increase the voice of emerging markets and developing countries in the IMF by adding another deputy managing director to represent emerging markets and low-income countries, and a third executive board chair representing sub-Saharan Africa.
“Working together for a common cause, we can bring more experience, expertise, knowledge, and, especially, more funding to the massive challenges facing the world today,” World Bank President Ajay Banga said. “Together, we are greater than the sum of our parts.”
In addition to improved analytical and diagnostic tools, including country climate and development reports, the multilateral banks have to work on principles for using concessional finance to target support for projects that address the challenges. Concessional finance involves loans at more generous terms than the market provides. The socio-cultural conditions should also form part of the decision-making process for extending these loans to accelerate private sector mobilization.
African States Struggling with Debts
International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva called for wealthy nations to provide more support to debt-saddled developing countries, and to better help vulnerable nations deal with poverty and climate change, as she opened the first IMF-World Bank meetings on African soil in 50 years. The global lenders traditionally hold their annual gathering of finance ministers and central bank governors outside their Washington headquarters every three years.
The IMF and World Bank last held their meetings in Africa in 1973, when Kenya hosted the event and some nations were still under colonial rule. Half a century later, the continent faces various challenges ranging from conflict to a series of military coups to unrelenting poverty to natural disasters.
“Bringing the meetings to Africa, again, is symbolically and substantively very important,” Georgieva said at a meeting with members of civil society organizations. She noted that the continent is wrestling with “remarkably similar” problems as 50 years ago, including high inflation and “political upheaval in many places”.
“Many countries are under a burden of debt that can crush them and we very, very much hope that the meetings would be a place to build more trust among nations. We all need each other,” she said and added that the IMF and World Bank need “more capacity” to support African countries that need help, including providing zero-interest loans on a larger scale.
In the final analysis, China has to be considered for an increase in a quota within the institutions and given more representation if it played an active role in debt relief for low-income countries. China has already considered some African countries for addressing issues of debt restructuring deals, for instance, Angola, Egypt, Nigeria, Zambia and a few others.
It was also the result of several direct consultations by the US Treasury Secretary Janet Louise Yellen and other officials, trying to pressure and coax China — the largest creditor to the developing world — into participating more readily in such agreements. There are also proposals to seriously look at ways to revive the effectiveness and monitoring of funds utilization on the continent. Expectations are high for a breakthrough.
President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi is looking to extend his rule until 2030. And Egypt seeks to boost IMF loan to over $5 billion amid currency woes, according to the discussions made available on the government’s website. A mission from the IMF may visit Egypt to start the two reviews around the end of October. Egypt owes nearly $22 billion to
the IMF, according to Egypt’s central bank which I found during my research for this article.
With regards to Africa, the IMF and World Bank need to take into serious account the ‘cultural change’ to better mobilize private capital. The process of reforming its operations to better address climate change and other numerous challenges requires an endorsement of a new vision “to end poverty on a livable planet” and that is what its new president, Ajay Banga, was working to turn into reality.
Under the auspices of the African Union, African leaders have to collectively within the framework of “African Problems, African Solutions” in this changing world. While calling for reforms in international organizations, the African Union also needs an urgent overhaul to effectively and rationally address the continent’s security and development issues. Africa does not need any “global coalition of democracies” to fight violent extremist groups, especially in West Africa that have been spreading south from the Sahel region. It requires African continental and/or regional forces with external support rather than bilateral mechanisms.
Fresh Hopes for a Better Future
A new tool developed by the Center for Global Development (CGD), and launched to track reforms by the World Bank and the five biggest multilateral development banks (MDBs), shows that broad changes are “firmly in play” but progress in implementing them has been limited thus far. The new platform assesses progress being made on reforms, but at the same time, concludes progress in implementing the changes was “quite limited.”
The CGD researchers however lauded some steps taken – including the World Bank’s inclusion of the phrase “livable planet” in its mission statement, but said the development banks were still largely debating how to integrate global challenges into their operations and how to pay for them.
Anna Bjerde, the World Bank’s managing director for operations, said she had been at the bank for 27 years and had never felt such energy and momentum for changing course. “To make a change in the work we’re in will, of course, take time,” Bjerde said, noting decisions already made at the spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank would boost financing and further steps were expected at the meeting in Morocco.
Critics have argued for years that MDBs manage their balance sheets too conservatively and could unlock significantly more capital without losing their AAA credit rating status. They said the reform discussion was also largely dominated by Northern Hemisphere voices and major emerging markets like China, India and Brazil, and it was crucial to include more MDB borrowing countries and address their goals and concerns.
“We have already seen notable progress in areas like raising lending limits and launching innovative finance programs,” former senior Treasury official Nancy Lee and other researchers wrote in a blog unveiling the tool. “Many reforms are still in the aspiration phase rather than the implementation phase.”
Axel Van Trostsenburg, Senior Managing Director, Development Policy and Partnership, World Bank, made known, during panel discussions, that the International Development Association (IDA), a World Bank subsidiary, is making available $70 billion of its $93 billion replenishing to Africa to support digital infrastructure and other developments.
In his idealistic view, physical-digital infrastructure needs to be developed and linked to the acceleration of the implementation and realization of the objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The AfCFTA is purposefully created as a single borderless market for free movement of goods products, people and services across Africa.
And it is only through digital development that we see an incredible increase in economic growth under AfCFTA. In this case, there is the necessity to engage the African leadership. This also requires the adoption of a multi-set of approaches in helping countries with regulatory frameworks, setting up infrastructure and mobilising private sector finance for digital development.
Perhaps, this is the appropriate moment for Africa to be very objective while asking for feverish reforms, such steps must begin also at home. African leaders can hardly escape some responsibility for the present state of affairs, the level of economic development and existing social welfare for the people in Africa. The African Union and the Regional Economic blocs or associations have to watch their reflections in the mirror if their platforms have undergone valuable and effective reforms necessary to achieve their fundamental development goals across the continent, at least over the past decade.
Reading through reports, the African Union’s assessment of the multinational financial banks notes the possibility of scaling up adequate funds to grease commitments, as many African countries now face the reality of growing debts that in some cases threaten to destabilize their economies. That, however, financing development objectives would have to noticeably change the expected economic progress and the landscape of bad infrastructure across Africa.
In a symbolic move, the IMF and World Bank are poised to give Africa a third seat on their executive boards. The summit’s final report has offered irreversible practical hopes for Africa. That would be a testament to the resilience on the part of the African community. But still, the African Union and Regional Economic blocs and associations have to engage in discussing and reviewing the ultimate work of international financial institutions to stand ready to support Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Professor Maurice Okoli is a fellow at the Institute for African Studies and the Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Russian Academy of Sciences. He is also a fellow at the North-Eastern Federal University of Russia. He is an expert at the Roscongress Foundation and the Valdai Discussion Club.
As an academic researcher and economist with a keen interest in current geopolitical changes and the emerging world order, Maurice Okoli frequently contributes articles for publication in reputable media portals on different aspects of the interconnection between developing and developed countries, particularly in Asia, Africa and Europe. With comments and suggestions, he can be reached via email: markolconsult (at) gmail (dot) com
World
Amid Rising Geopolitical Challenges India Prioritizing Global South Under its BRICS Leadership
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
By rotational procedures and consensus adopted in Brazil in December, India has taken over the BRICS+ presidency for 2026, underscoring its highly-enriching membership and gracious opportunity to deepen the intergovernmental association as a leading geopolitical force in the Global South. Brazil took over the BRICS presidency from Russia on January 1, 2025. Following its expansion, BRICS+ currently comprises ten countries: Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates.
Historically, its conceptual origins were articulated by Russian foreign minister Yevgeny Primakov in 1998, and can be traced to series of informal forums and dialogue groups such as RIC (Russia, India, and China) and IBSA (India, Brazil, and South Africa). In addition to that significant aspect of its history, BRIC was originally a term coined by British economist Jim O’Neill, and later championed by his employer Goldman Sachs in 2001, to designate a group of emerging markets.
The bloc’s inaugural summit was held in 2009 (Yekaterinburg summit) and featured the founding countries of Brazil, Russia, India, and China. These four founding members adopted the acronym BRIC and formed an informal diplomatic club where their governments could meet annually at formal summits and coordinate multilateral policies. The following year, South Africa officially became a member after it was formally invited and supported by China, and unreservedly backed by India and Russia.
South Africa joined the organization in September 2010, which was then renamed BRICS, and attended the third summit in 2011 as a full member. The biggest expansion witnessed Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates attending the first summit as member states in 2024 in Kazan, the autonomous Republic of Tatarstan, part of the Russian Federation. Later on, Indonesia officially joined in early 2025, becoming the first Southeast Asian member. The acronym BRICS+ or BRICS Plus has been informally used to reflect new membership since 2024.
On 24 October 2024, an additional 13 countries, namely Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam, were invited to participate as “partner countries”. The partner status would allow these countries to engage with and benefit from BRICS initiatives. It is still unclear whether the countries in this tier have received official membership invitations. But there is the high possibility to ascend the association as full-fledged members in future.
Persistent Multiple Differences
Now as India takes on the helm of BRICS+, experts and research analysts are showing deep interest and are discussing possibilities of multilateral cooperation, existing challenges and identifying diverse priorities, the strength and weaknesses of BRICS+. On a more negative note, multiple contradictions keep piling up among the group, including questions about the future of BRICS as anything other than an ineffective growing talk-shop market.
The biggest obstacle being political divergencies and economic development perceptions. Cultures are distinctive different among the members of this informal BRICS+ association, while all are consistently advocating for wholesale reforms, especially of the United Nations Security Council, and multinational financial institution such as the World Bank (WB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF). Some the members have been adamant to undertake internal reforms at their own state institutions.
As a founding member of BRICS, India plans to find a more suitable path for balancing its non-aligned policy, forge new directions for the development of the Global South under its BRICS+ presidency, while emphasizing trends on the global economic landscape. Arguably, India will definitely act with precision. India is most likely to be non-critical, and moreso with an insight understanding that, not antagonism, but rather ‘cooperation’ must be the underlying basic principle of a multipolar environment.
India’s Rotating BRICS Presidency
Leaders’ meetings (or leaders’ summits) are held once a year on a rotating basis. BRICS has neither a permanent seat nor secretariat. A number of ministerial meetings, for example, between foreign ministers, finance ministers, central bank governors, trade ministers and energy ministers in the country which is presiding BRICS+ association.
Speaking at the BRICS summit back in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assertively said that “reform of institutions of global governance … has been on the BRICS agenda since its inception.”
Later, prior to the Kazan summit, Prime Minister Modi explicitly stated that BRICS was never meant to be against anyone or be anti-western, and that it is only non-western. At the Kazan summit, Prime Minister Modi further stated: “We must be careful to ensure that this organization does not acquire the image of one that is trying to replace global institutions”.
At the 17th BRICS Summit held in Rio de Janeiro on 7 July 2025, Prime Minister Modi stated that India would give a “new form” to the BRICS grouping during its presidency in 2026.
Prime Minister Modi proposed redefining BRICS as “Building Resilience and Innovation for Cooperation and Sustainability” and emphasized a people-centric approach, drawing parallels with India’s G-20 presidency where the Global South was prioritized.
Prime Minister Modi affirmed that India would advance BRICS with a focus on “humanity first” highlighting the need for joint global efforts to address common challenges such as pandemics and climate change.
Prime Minister Modi also called for urgent reform of global institutions to reflect the realities of the 21st century, emphasizing greater representation for the Global South and criticizing outdated structures like the UN Security Council and World Trade Organization.
Clarifying further and clearly BRICS+ position: In a briefing in October 2024, Russian Foreign Ministry stated, on its website, that “BRICS framework is non-confrontational and constructive” and that “it is a viable alternative to a world living by someone else’s, alien rules” and by this functional definition, it reinforces BRICS role in the world. BRICS members has the opportunity to mutually deal with any country in the world. It is not prohibited to forge amicable relations with United States and in Europe.
President Putin quoted Prime Minister Narendra Modi in saying that “BRICS is not anti-western but simply non-western” and even suggested that BRICS countries could be a part of the Ukraine peace process.
There are other classical analysis. For instance, Joseph Nye wrote in January 2025 that BRICS, “as a means of escaping diplomatic isolation, it is certainly useful to Russia” and that the same goes for Iran. Nevertheless, political expert Nye explained that the expansion of the BRICS could bring in more “intra-organizational rivalries” which is limiting the groups’ effectiveness. Yet, BRICS consolidation has turned the group into a potent negotiation force that now challenges Washington’s geopolitical and economic goals.
Despite frequent criticisms against Donald Trump, most of BRICS members are pursuing relations with United States, with Kremlin appointing Chief Executive Officer of Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev as the Special Representative of the Russian President for Economic Cooperation with Foreign Countries. Since his appointment, returning U.S. business to Russia’s market forms the primary focus in the United States. Russian President Vladimir Putin has tasked him to promote business dialogue between the two countries, and further to negotiate for the return of U.S. business enterprises. Without much doubts, similar trends are not difficult to find as India, Ethiopia and South Africa fix eyes on identifying pragmatic prospects for economic cooperation, further to earn significant revenue from trade, and also including pathways to sustain the huge Diaspora’s financial remittances from the United States.
BRICS+ Financial Architecture
The group is dominated by China, which has the largest share of the group’s GDP, accounting to about 70% of the organization total. The financial architecture of BRICS is made of the New Development Bank (NDB) and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA). These components were signed into a treaty in 2014 and became active in 2015. The New Development Bank (NDB), formally referred to as the BRICS Development Bank, is a multilateral development bank operated by the five BRICS states.
The bank’s primary focus of lending is infrastructure projects with authorized lending of up to $34 billion annually. South Africa hosts the African headquarters of the bank. The bank has a starting capital of $50 billion, with wealth increased to $100 billion over time. Records show Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa initially contributed $10 billion each to bring the total to $50 billion. As of 2020, it had 53 projects underway worth around $15 billion. By 2024 the bank had approved more than $32 billion for 96 projects. In 2021, Bangladesh, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Uruguay joined the NDB.
Future of BRICS+ in Geopolitical World
Last year, several countries began working within the BRICS framework, and many states are planning to join this association. In practical terms, BRICS needs to increase its practical impact of its partnership on the level of qualitative development, not just organizational symbolism and public rhetoric as it has been during the past few years. Time has come to avoid excessive bureaucracy and avoid any undesirable rigid attachment to an organizational structure. BRICS has to enhance its economic potential, develop appropriate mechanisms for financial, trade, and economic cooperation.
With India’s presidency in 2026, which is estimated to be a comprehensive and promising eventful year for BRICS, as India has already outlined its framework of priorities, as it did during its G20 presidency several years ago. In close-coordination with members and partner-states within the BRICS association, India has to ensure the balance of multifaceted interests, and ensure or establish mutual-trust in the multipolar world system. The goal of transforming into a full-fledged international organization must go beyond addressing current geopolitical challenges, the necessity to develop effective ways of engaging in global development to reflect multipolarity.
Since its inception, BRICS has undergone a transformation and has gone through several stages of qualitative change. The organizers are still touting the expansion as part of a plan to build a competing multipolar world order that uses Global South countries to challenge and compete against the western-dominated world order. There is obvious interest in this consensus-based platform, hundreds of economic and political areas for cooperation, and for collaborating including politics, economic development, education, and scientific research. The New Development Bank finances various projects in member countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
On January 1, 2024, five new members officially entered BRICS, namely Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Ethiopia. At a BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia in October 2024, it was decided to establish a category of BRICS partner countries. The first countries to become partners were Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Thailand, Uganda and Uzbekistan. The expanded BRICS+ generates 36% of global GDP. That however, according to Economist Intelligence Unit, the collective size of the economies of BRICS+ will overtake G7 by 2045. Today, collectively, BRICS comprises more than a quarter of the global economy and nearly half the world’s population.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
For transforming cross-border payments through its deployment with Global Money Exchange, Comviva has been named Best In-Class Cross Border Payments.
The global leader in digital transformation solutions clinched this latest accolade at the IBS Intelligence Global FinTech Innovation Award 2025.
The recognition highlights how Comviva’s mobiquity Pay is helping shape a modern cross-border payment ecosystem that stretches far beyond conventional remittance services.
Deployed as a white label Wallet Platform and launched as Global Pay Oman App, it fulfils GMEC’s dual vision—positioning itself as an innovative payment service provider while digitally extending its core money transfer business.
The solution allows GMEC to offer international money transfers alongside seamless forex ordering and other services. These capabilities sit alongside a broad suite of everyday financial services, including bill and utility payments, merchant transactions, education-related payments, and other digital conveniences — all delivered through one unified experience.
“This award is a testament to Oman’s accelerating digital transformation and our commitment to reshaping how cross-border payments serve people and businesses across the Sultanate.
“By partnering with Comviva and bringing the Global Pay Oman Super App, we have moved beyond traditional remittance services to create a truly inclusive and future-ready financial ecosystem.
“This innovation is not only enhancing convenience and transparency for our customers but is also supporting Oman’s broader vision of building a digitally empowered economy,” the Managing Director at Global Money Exchange, Subromoniyan K.S, said.
Also commenting, the chief executive of Comviva, Mr Rajesh Chandiramani, said, “Cross-border payments are becoming a daily necessity, not a niche service, particularly for migrant and trade-linked economies.
“This recognition from IBS Intelligence validates our focus on building payment platforms that combine global reach with local relevance, operational resilience and a strong user experience. The deployment with Global Money Exchange Co. demonstrates how mobiquity® Pay enables financial institutions to move beyond remittances and deliver integrated digital services at scale.”
“The deployment of mobiquity Pay for GMEC showcases how scalable, API-driven digital wallet platforms can transform cross-border payments into seamless, value-rich experiences.
“By integrating remittances, bill payments, forex services, and AI-powered engagement into a unified Super App, Comviva has reimagined customer journeys and operational agility.
“This Best-in-Class Cross-border Payments award win stands as a testament to Comviva’s excellence in enabling financial institutions to compete and grow in a digitally convergent world,” the Director for Research and Digital Properties at IBS Intelligence, Nikhil Gokhale, said.
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
At the end of an extensive consultation with African foreign ministers, Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, has emphasized that Moscow would advance its economic engagement across Africa, admittedly outlining obstacles delaying the prompt implementation of several initiatives set forth in Strategic Action Plan (2023-2026) approved in St. Petersburg during the Russia-Africa Summit.
The second Ministerial Conference, by the Russian Foreign Ministry with support from Roscongress Foundation and the Arab Republic of Egypt, marked an important milestone towards raising bilateral investment and economic cooperation.
In Cairo, the capital city of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Lavrov read out the final resolution script, in a full-packed conference hall, and voiced strong confidence that Moscow would achieve its strategic economic goals with Africa, with support from the African Union (AU) and other Regional Economic blocs in the subsequent years. Despite the complexities posed by the Russia-Ukraine crisis, combined with geopolitical conditions inside the African continent, Moscow however reiterated its position to take serious steps in finding pragmatic prospects for mutual cooperation and improve multifaceted relations with Africa, distinctively in the different sectors: in trade, economic and investment spheres, education and culture, humanitarian and other promising areas.
The main event was the plenary session co-chaired by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emigration, and Egyptians Abroad Bashar Abdelathi. Welcome messages from Russian President Vladimir Putin and Egyptian President Abdelhak Sisi were read.
And broadly, the meeting participants compared notes on the most pressing issues on the international and Russian-African agendas, with a focus on the full implementation of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum Action Plan for 2023-2026, approved at the second Russia-Africa Summit in St. Petersburg in 2023.
In addition, on the sidelines of the conference, Lavrov held talks with his African counterparts, and a number of bilateral documents were signed. A thematic event was held with the participation of Russian and African relevant agencies and organizations, aimed at unlocking the potential of trilateral Russia-Egypt-Africa cooperation in trade, economic, and educational spheres.
With changing times, Africa is rapidly becoming one of the key centers of a multipolar world order. It is experiencing a second awakening. Following their long-ago political independence, African countries are increasingly insisting on respect for their sovereignty and their right to independently manage their resources and destiny. Based on these conditions, it was concluded that Moscow begins an effective and comprehensive work on preparing a new three-year Cooperation and Joint Action Plan between Russia and Africa.
Moreover, these important areas of joint practical work are already detailed in the Joint Statement, which was unanimously approved and will serve as an important guideline for future work. According to reports, the Joint Statement reflects the progress of discussions on international and regional issues, as well as matters of global significance.
Following the conference, the Joint Statement adopted reflects shared approaches to addressing challenges and a mutual commitment to strengthening multifaceted cooperation with a view to ensuring high-quality preparation for the third Russia-Africa Summit in 2026.
On December 19-20, the Second Ministerial Conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum was held in Cairo, Egypt. It was held for the first time on the African continent, attended by heads and representatives of the foreign policy ministries of 52 African states and the executive bodies of eight regional integration associations.
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