The Fourth Forum took place from April 22 at MGIMO University of the Russian Foreign Ministry, concluded on April 25, 2025. The event confirmed its status as an authoritative platform for discussing key areas of cooperation between Russia and the countries of the African continent. This year, the Forum brought together 1,500 participants, including representatives of 41 African countries.
The business program included more than 30 events, including expert and panel discussions, round tables, creative brainstorms and other interactive sessions devoted to education, sports and space diplomacy, energy partnership, scientific cooperation, humanitarian interaction and information security. The Forum also included sessions organized jointly with the Center for Global and Strategic Studies and the Council of Young Scientists of the Institute of Africa of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the OIE Laboratory of the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the I.S. Turgenev, as well as the MGIMO Law Club.
Participants had the opportunity to exchange opinions and develop new approaches to developing relations between Russia and Africa. Particular attention was paid to the sports and cultural program, which allowed participants to immerse themselves in the atmosphere of the African continent and experience its diversity and color.
On the first day of the Forum, the II Russian-African Spartakiad was held, which included sports competitions in football, volleyball, and basketball. Dozens of heads of African diplomatic missions accredited in Moscow, as well as representatives of various Russian ministries and departments, attended the grand opening of the IV Forum “Russia-Africa: What’s Next?”.
The ceremony was hosted by I.V. Tkachenko, Attaché of the Department of African States (sub-Saharan Africa) of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Executive Secretary of the Forum’s Program Committee. Russian Foreign Minister S.V. Lavrov addressed the participants with a video message. Advisor to the President of the Russian Federation A.A. Kobyakov also delivered a welcoming speech. Among the honored guests were MGIMO Rector, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences A.V. Torkunov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation M.L. Bogdanov, Russian Senator, member of the Federation Council Group for Cooperation with African Parliaments A.V. Voloshin, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs L.E. Slutsky, Honorary President of the Institute of African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences A.M. Vasiliev, Deputy Director General of ITAR-TASS M.V. Petrov, Head of the Department for Work with Government Agencies and Diplomatic Missions of African Countries, Consultant on Interaction with Africa Jose Fernando Sambo, as well as Chairman of the Council of Young Diplomats of the Russian Foreign Ministry E.M. Akopyan.
During his speech, Igor Tkachenko, together with MGIMO Rector A.V. Torkunov and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation M.L. Bogdanov, put forward the initiative to organize a Youth Day as part of the upcoming Russia-Africa summit in 2026. This proposal, aimed at strengthening intercultural dialogue and developing youth cooperation between the countries, received the support of the event participants.
Vice-Rector for Youth Policy, Social Work and International Relations, Stanislav Igorevich. In his speech, Surovtsev emphasized that one of MGIMO’s main priorities is training new generation leaders who are ready to participate in implementing large-scale cooperation projects with African countries in all areas.
Stanislav Igorevich also noted that MGIMO traditionally acts in the forefront of educational partnership with Africa, relying on the rich traditions that were laid down in Soviet times and have survived to this day. Leading Russian and foreign experts took part in the Forum, including Director of the Department of Partnership with Africa of the Russian Foreign Ministry T.E. Dovgalenko, Deputy Director of the Department of International Organizations of the Russian Foreign Ministry V.E. Sergeev, Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Foreign Ministry S.S. Belousko, State Duma deputies N.V. Novichkov, D.V. Kuznetsov, I.A. Filatova, representatives of major news agencies, as well as business and scientific circles.
The headliners of the Forum were the consultant on interaction with Africa, Jose Fernando Sambu, the executive chairman of the African Youth Commission, Marubini Muswede and the CEO of StudEx Group Tumelo Ramaphosa. The following exhibitions were presented on the sidelines of the IV Forum “Russia-Africa: What’s Next?”: “Africa: Past and Present…”, “Chroniclers of History”, and “Explore Uganda”, organized jointly with the Moscow Financial and Law Academy, the magazine “New Regions” and the Embassy of the Republic of Uganda, respectively.
The grand opening of the exhibitions took place on April 23 with the participation of the Rector of the Moscow Financial and Law Academy, A.G. Zabelin, the Vice-Rector of MGIMO S.I. Surovtsev, the Deputy Executive Secretary of the Forum’s Program Committee, MGIMO analyst V.V. Zhuchkov and the Chairman of the Student Secretariat of the Forum V.G. Avetisyan.
The final event of the Forum was the Russian-African concert, which brought together talented performers from Russia and African countries on one stage. The cultural program included a variety of musical and dance numbers reflecting the rich heritage, culture and traditions of both regions.
Following the IV Forum, several fundamental documents were signed, including agreements on cooperation in the field of education and science with the Africa House organization and the Madagascar-Russia Brotherhood Association.
During the closing ceremony, consultant on interaction with Africa José Fernando Sambou, executive chairman of the African Youth Commission Marubini Muswede, as well as attaché of the Department of African States (Sub-Saharan Africa) I.V. Tkachenko and deputy executive secretary of the Forum’s Program Committee, MGIMO analyst V.V. Zhuchkov signed the final resolution of the Forum.
The partners of the event were the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Rossotrudnichestvo, the Roscongress Foundation, the Directorate of the World Youth Festival, as well as CMR Bank, Priority 2030 and the MGIMO Endowment. The general information partner was TASS, media coverage was also provided by Russia Today and the African Initiative. IV Forum “Russia-Africa: What’s Next?” became a confirmation of the mutual interest of the parties in developing cooperation and identified promising areas for further joint work.
