Marrakech – Head of Government Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri arrived in Moscow on Wednesday to represent King Mohammed VI at the third Russia-Africa Summit. The two-day gathering opened the same day in the Russian capital, bringing together Russia and African member states of the United Nations.
The Moroccan delegation also includes Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and Morocco’s Ambassador to Russia, Lotfi Bouchaara. Morocco takes part under the theme of peace, security, and development, while the summit itself runs under its own official banner of developing mutually beneficial cooperation and unlocking the potential of every African country.
Bourita opened Morocco’s diplomatic engagements on Wednesday morning at a meeting of African foreign ministers chaired by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. On the sidelines, he held one-on-one talks with his Russian counterpart.
The summit runs on October 28 and 29. It is chaired by Russian President Vladimir Putin and the current chair of the African Union, Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye. A total of 48 African countries confirmed participation, with 22 represented at the highest level.
Running alongside the summit is the Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum, which the Roscongress Foundation operates. Its program features around 40 sessions and panel discussions with close to 100 speakers. The agenda covers trade, investment, industry, technology, food and energy security, digitalization, healthcare, education, science, media, and youth exchange.
The forum’s business program culminates in a plenary session attended by Putin, who is scheduled to hold 19 bilateral meetings. An accompanying exhibition showcases Russian offerings in energy, natural resources, food supplies, pharmaceuticals, and digital and financial infrastructure.
Attendance reflects shifting interest across the three gatherings. According to Kremlin presidential aide Yury Ushakov, 22 heads of state are taking part this year, compared with 17 at the 2023 summit and 43 at the first one in 2019.
View this post on Instagram
The Moscow meeting continues a process that began in Sochi in 2019 and moved to Saint Petersburg in 2023. Russia has pushed to broaden cooperation with its African partners across several sectors as it faces Western sanctions tied to its war in Ukraine.
Trade between Russia and African countries has exceeded $28 billion, up from an estimated $16.8 billion in 2019. The exchange remains concentrated in a few countries and trails the volumes of China and the European Union. Russia’s strongest ties lie in energy, fertilizers, defense, and nuclear power, where the state firm Rosatom has signed a series of agreements.
Russia has also become an essential supplier of fertilizers and wheat to the continent. In 2023, it exported 200,000 tonnes of grain to Mali, Somalia, the Central African Republic, Burkina Faso, Eritrea, and Zimbabwe.
Beyond trade, Moscow has expanded its security presence. A report by the African Security Analysis group counts Russian missions or troops in at least nine African countries.
The visit also comes days before the October 31 vote at the UN Security Council on Western Sahara, where Russia holds one of the five permanent seats. For Rabat, keeping Moscow from using its veto on resolutions tied to the territory is a standing diplomatic priority.
By the close of the summit, delegations are expected to adopt a final declaration and a Russia-Africa Partnership Forum plan covering 2027 to 2029. This is the first such summit since 2023, offering a measure of how far the relationship has developed and where it is heading.
