Moscow Summit: 48 African delegations, $28 billion in trade, and a letter from Amnesty

Delegations from 48 African countries are meeting on October 29, 2026, at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow for the plenary session of the third Russia-Africa summit, which opened the day before. The meeting is co-chaired by Vladimir Putin and Burundian President Évariste Ndayishimiye, the current chairperson of the African Union. According to Russian presidential advisor Yury Ushakov, as cited by Al Jazeera, 22 heads of state are expected, compared to 43 at the first Sochi summit in 2019.

The program, featuring over 40 sessions and a hundred speakers, covers trade, investment, technology transfer, food and energy security, health, education, and youth. On the sidelines, Putin is scheduled to hold talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. Ibrahim Traoré, Abdourahamane Tchiani, William Ruto, Yoweri Museveni, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, and Abdel Fattah al-Burhan are among the guests.

What Moscow is bringing to the table

Russian diplomatic spokesperson Maria Zakharova stated at the Russia-Africa Media Forum that trade with the continent exceeded $27 billion last year, according to the Namibian newspaper New Era. She cited 13 million tons of grain delivered to African countries in the first nine months of 2026, more than 2.2 million tons of fertilizer in 2026 compared to 1.5 million in 2025, and over 40,000 African students enrolled in Russia. Moscow maintains 48 embassies on the continent.

The figures that require a second look

Al Jazeera places current Russia-Africa trade at over $28 billion, up from approximately $16.8 billion in 2019. The growth is real, but the volume remains concentrated in a few countries—led by Egypt and Algeria—and is far behind China and the European Union. At this stage, Africa has not replaced one dominant partner with another; it has simply added an option.

The balance of power is being played out elsewhere. According to the firm African Security Analysis, Russia has gained more influence on the continent through security than through trade, with a military presence—whether in missions or troops—in at least nine countries. Analysts cited by Al Jazeera believe that the meetings on the sidelines, particularly with Russian military officials, will reveal more than the final declaration.

A topic the hosts would prefer to avoid

Amnesty International has sent an open letter to the leaders in attendance, asking them to demand an end to the recruitment of Africans to fight in Ukraine, which it describes as "deceptive and coercive." Kenya has already expressed diplomatic concerns. The summit is set to conclude with a joint declaration and a partnership plan for 2027-2029: it is by these texts, and what African states have managed to include in them, that we will measure whether this partnership between equals is truly one.