World
Russian Chamber of Commerce Strengthens International Ties
By Kester Kenn Klomegah
The Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) said it is working very hard to continue to prioritise the interests of Russian entrepreneurs in all its dealings.
One of the ways the organisation is doing this is by strengthening its international ties.
Already, the CCI has successfully established 76 operational business councils with 76 countries. They involve representatives of the Russian business community and those from the relevant state.
These councils compile materials, including those for inter-governmental commissions. They work on specific projects that they support and on problems arising in economic ties with any specific country. This concerns customs regulations, phytosanitary control and many other questions.
“Our representatives are working in 41 countries, 10 of which are regional offices that are part of our regular operation, and the rest are our representatives emeritus who, on our behalf, protect, by proxy, our interests in a particular country; this is one of our major areas of operation as well,” the Head of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI), Mr Sergei Katyrin, said during a meeting with President Vladimir Putin.
CCI is an association of entrepreneurs which not only unites them and represents their interests, but also provides services, including on behalf of the state, such as issuing certificates of origin of goods, confirming the goods that are manufactured on Russian territory. The CCI has the primary task to develop a system that could be as close to entrepreneurs as possible.
“We are now represented in more than 330 cities and municipalities in Russia, this is an opportunity to get as close to businesses as possible.
“We continue to work on this system and give the entrepreneurs an opportunity to get the services as close as possible and, accordingly, to use all the opportunities that chambers of commerce and industry can provide,” Mr Katyrin further said.
Business Post reports that later this year, the chamber will hold its grand congress this year, as stipulated in its official charter, to sum up the results of what has been done over the past period, and then to make plans for the next five years as well as elect the governing bodies. In accordance with the CCI charter, the chamber holds a regular congress every five years.
Apart from representing the interests of members, the CCI is involved in law-making activity, a highly important aspect for entrepreneurs.
According to reports, there are 22 committees and 13 councils. These are public associations that involve entrepreneurs, administrators and researchers – those that work themselves and help work in the sphere of law-making. Each year, they help pass over 100 bills and provide findings on about 70 bills. There are also draft about 15 of its own bills and duly submit them to the Government and the State Duma.
“We have tried to organize this systemic work so as to collect information and requests from entrepreneurs all over the country.
“Consequently, one of our main tasks aimed to engage the entire country’s business in this law-making and regulatory work through a system of chambers and our local subsidiaries and offices,” Mr Katyrin said.
Also, CCI works closely with the International Chamber of Commerce, the World Chambers Federation, and the Euro-Chambers. It has an advisory board of Heads of Chambers of the CIS countries and the Eurasian Union. It also represents Russia’s interests in the SCO and BRICS Business Councils. This year we chaired them, just like all our departments. Our colleagues told us it was a success, but, unfortunately, we had to do this in digital format.
“We do a lot to help the regions bring in investment and support investment projects in the regions, primarily, business projects. We have broken it down into several areas of focus. First of all, we have organized and hold regular presentations of the regions at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
“Almost half of our regions took part in these presentations. We invite all diplomatic missions that have trade missions, foundations, banks, and Russian and foreign companies and we present a region, while the region provides an outline of its investment projects. We also pick investment projects and present them to the industries that may be interested. We run presentations on agricultural projects, industry, and so on,” Mr Katyrin further explained.
The CCI does regularly collect and monitor feedback. It organizes a Business Barometer – an anonymous poll of entrepreneurs. It organizes four stages of the Business Barometer of the country and received feedback from entrepreneurs on the adopted measures.
Generally, the Business Barometer is used as a tool for finding out, for instance, the attitude of entrepreneurs to corruption, reveal the most corrupt areas and what they are all about, it further investigates potential investment areas and so forth. In each case, we send this information to the governors, State Duma deputies and the Government. The results are forwarded to the relevant ministries, departments and the State Duma.
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
For the first time in its history, the World Public Summit will be held on the African continent. On 29–30 July 2026, Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, will host the World Public Summit. Africa — “A New World: Africa in Shaping a Shared Future.”
The Summit is organised by the World Peoples Assembly in cooperation with African partner organisations. It will bring together leaders of public diplomacy, representatives of international intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations, academics, experts, representatives of the education and cultural sectors, youth leaders, socially responsible businesses, media professionals, and civil society institutions from across Africa and other regions of the world.
The World Public Summit. Africa continues the work initiated during the First World Public Assembly “A New World of Conscious Unity,” held in Moscow in September 2025, and serves as one of the key milestones in preparation for the Second World Public Assembly “A New World: Values That Unite,” which will take place in Moscow on 18–19 September 2026.
Today, Africa is emerging as one of the principal centres of global development. Rapid demographic growth, expanding entrepreneurship, strengthening regional integration, rich cultural heritage, and the growing role of civil society institutions make the continent an increasingly important contributor to the future architecture of international cooperation.
The Summit will focus on issues of genuine sovereignty and sustainable development, public diplomacy, preservation of cultural and historical heritage, international cooperation in education and science, youth engagement, innovation-driven development, creative industries, and the formation of new partnerships among countries and peoples.
The main business programme of the Summit will take place on 30 July 2026 at the headquarters of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) in Addis Ababa. Holding the Summit at UNECA highlights its pan-African dimension and creates opportunities for broad international dialogue on humanitarian cooperation and public diplomacy.
The programme will include plenary sessions, strategic dialogues, and expert panels dedicated to values-based development, education, culture, youth leadership, innovation, and international cooperation.
Participation has already been confirmed by Professor Saidou Madougou, Director of the Department of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation of the African Union; Rita Bissoonauth, Director of the UNESCO Liaison Office to the African Union and UNECA in Addis Ababa; Zuzana Schwidrowski, Director of the Macroeconomics, Finance and Governance Division of UNECA, as well as ministers, leaders of public organisations, and representatives of the business community from a number of African countries.
On the same day, the ADWA Victory Memorial Museum—Ethiopia’s national memorial complex dedicated to the Victory of Adwa and an important centre for preserving the historical memory of the Ethiopian people—will host the award ceremony of the regional stage of the V International Competition “Leader of Public Diplomacy”, followed by a large-scale cultural programme.
One of the key outcomes of the Summit will be the adoption of the African Communiqué, reflecting proposals and recommendations aimed at strengthening humanitarian, educational, cultural, and public cooperation between African countries and other regions of the world.
The outcomes, initiatives, and recommendations were developed during the World Public Summit. Africa will be presented at the Second World Public Assembly “A New World: Values That Unite”, to be held in Moscow on 18–19 September 2026.
According to Andrey Belyaninov, General Secretary of the World Peoples Assembly, “the Addis Ababa Summit is an important step toward building a new world founded on mutual respect, cultural diversity, dialogue and sustainable development.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The United Kingdom will get its seventh Prime Minister in 10 years as Mr Keir Starmer announced his resignation on Monday.
The Minister said he is stepping down as leader of the governing Labour Party and will leave office within weeks, scarcely two years after being elected in a landslide.
Mr Starmer says he will remain caretaker prime minister until a new Labour leader is chosen by the party.
Mr Starmer made the announcement after facing growing pressure to hand over to a new leader who can try to revive the government’s flagging fortunes.
He led Labour to a landslide election victory in July 2024, but since then, his popularity and that of the party have plummeted.
His departure was triggered by the victory of Mr Andy Burnham in a special election last week. The popular ex-mayor of Greater Manchester planned to challenge the existing PM for the Labour leadership.
Mr Starmer made the announcement outside the prime minister’s 10 Downing St. residence with a brief statement on Monday.
“The question my party is asking now is whether I am best placed to lead us into the next general election,” Mr Starmer said. “I have heard the answer of my parliamentary party to that question, and I accept that answer with good grace.
Mr Starmer is the sixth prime minister in a decade to stand outside 10 Downing Street and announce a premature departure.
It comes the day before Britain marks the 10th anniversary of its vote to leave the European Union, a decision that still affects the country’s economy and politics.
Over the past decade, 10 Downing Street has had six occupants, including Mr David Cameron, who left office in 2016 after the Brexit referendum and was succeeded by Ms Theresa May. She was followed by Mr Boris Johnson, whose tenure covered Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic. After Mr Johnson came Ms Liz Truss, whose 49-day premiership was the shortest in British history. Mr Rishi Sunak then took office before being succeeded by Mr Starmer, the outgoing occupant of Number 10.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A financing facility of up to $60 million has been secured by AXIAN Energy, the energy division of the AXIAN Group.
The funding package was provided by MCB, one of the leading financial institutions in the Indian Ocean region.
It comprises a $40 million revolving credit facility with a three-year tenor and extension option, and $20 million in unfunded instruments, providing AXIAN Energy with enhanced financial flexibility, enabling the company to rapidly mobilise resources and seize development opportunities across its target markets.
The energy firm is expected to use the capital to deliver large-scale energy infrastructure projects across Africa.
Over the past two years, AXIAN Energy has significantly accelerated its growth by expanding its renewable energy project pipeline, with solar projects currently under development in Senegal, Benin, Zambia, Côte d’Ivoire, Madagascar, and Burkina Faso.
Building on this momentum, AXIAN Energy now operates a portfolio comprising 350 MW of installed renewable energy capacity, supported by 77 MWh of energy storage capacity, positioning the AXIAN Group as a major contributor to Africa’s energy transition.
The chief executive of AXIAN Energy, Mr Benjamin Memmi, said, “This transaction marks a key milestone in AXIAN Energy’s growth trajectory. It provides us with the financial capacity to sustain the momentum we have built over the past two years, further strengthening our renewable energy portfolio and expanding our presence across new African markets.”
Also commenting, the Global Head of Structured Finance at MCB, Mr Mathieu Delteil, said, “We are proud to support AXIAN Energy in structuring this facility, reaffirming our commitment to enabling transformative projects across Africa.
“By leveraging our sector expertise and deep understanding of regional markets, we have delivered a tailored financing solution that aligns with AXIAN’s long-term renewable energy ambitions.
“This partnership highlights our role as a strategic financial partner, mobilising capital towards investments that drive sustainable growth and accelerate the energy transition across the continent.”
The financing agreement between the two organisations strengthens their long-standing relationship because it is driven by a shared commitment to supporting infrastructure development and economic growth across Africa.
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