The third Russia-Africa Summit opens in Moscow on Wednesday October 28, and runs to October 29. According to Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, 48 African countries have confirmed their participation, and President Vladimir Putin will co-chair the meeting with African Union chairman Évariste Ndayishimiye of Burundi.
Sudan’s ambassador to Russia gave a narrower figure, saying more than 36 heads of state and government have confirmed. The difference matters, because turnout will be read as a measure of Moscow’s pull. Only 17 heads of state attended the 2023 summit in Saint Petersburg, down from 43 in Sochi in 2019.
Who has arrived. The presidents of Zimbabwe, Mali and Mozambique were already in Moscow, with delegations from Senegal, Ghana and Uganda.
Sudan’s Abdel Fattah al-Burhan will lead a delegation that includes the foreign and finance ministers and the intelligence chief, and will hold talks with Putin.
Ghana’s role. President John Mahama arrived on Monday and said earlier he would try to convince Putin to agree a ceasefire in Ukraine. Two Russian universities will also confer honourary doctorates on him.
Leaders are expected to discuss a Russia-Africa partnership action plan for 2027-2029 and co-operation on civilian applications of artificial intelligence.
