Russia-Africa Summit: 17 heads of state expected in Moscow on October 28 and 29, compared to 43 in 2019

The third Russia-Africa summit is being held in Moscow on October 28 and 29, 2026, and at least 17 African heads of state have confirmed their attendance, reports the Congolese website mediacongo.net. This is exactly the same level of participation as in Saint Petersburg in 2023, but less than half of the 43 leaders who came to Sochi in 2019 for the inaugural edition.

Several presidents were already on-site before the opening. Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa arrived on October 25, according to Sputnik Africa, the same day as Congolese President Denis Sassou-Nguesso, according to African Initiative. The Malian transitional president, Army General Assimi Goïta, reached Moscow on October 26. Burkina Faso is represented by its Prime Minister, Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouédraogo, who left Ouagadougou the same day, and Uganda by the Speaker of its Parliament, Jacob Marksons Obot, details the Guinean media outlet Guinee360. Félix Tshisekedi will personally lead the DRC delegation, confirmed the Congolese ambassador to Russia, Ivan Vangu Ngimbi.

What Africa is seeking

The program gives a measure of what is being negotiated: trade, investment, energy including civil nuclear power, agriculture and food security, digital transformation, and technologies and payment systems, according to mediacongo.net. This last point is not trivial: several major African banks have joined settlement circuits this year that bypass the dollar. October 28 is dedicated to receiving heads of delegation and a meeting of foreign ministers with Sergey Lavrov. On the 29th, the plenary session will be co-chaired by Vladimir Putin and Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye, the current chairperson of the African Union.

A now triennial format

Delegations are expected to review the 2023-2026 action plan and adopt a final declaration accompanied by a new plan for 2027-2029, indicates Guinee360. Preparation was entrusted to Yury Ushakov, an advisor to Vladimir Putin, following a preparatory ministerial conference held in Cairo in December, recalls La Nouvelle Tribune. The event is now held every three years.

By mid-July, more than 30 African countries had given their agreement, according to Anatoly Bashkin of the Russian Foreign Ministry, as cited by the TASS agency. Out of the 54 states on the continent, the gap remains wide, and the Kremlin has not published an official list of participants. According to mediacongo.net, the participation of Libya, Algeria, Nigeria, and Equatorial Guinea was not confirmed on the eve of the summit.

The question worth asking after October 29 is not about the number of flags in the room, but about the substance: how many of the commitments from the 2023-2026 plan have been kept, and what African governments are obtaining in exchange for their minerals, energy, and markets. Africa-partner summits look similar in the final photo; they distinguish themselves by what is signed, and subsequently implemented.