Russia Expects 48 Countries, Including 22 Leaders, at 2026 Africa Summit
Russia expects delegations from 48 countries, including 22 heads of state or government, at its 2026 Russia-Africa Summit in Moscow, the Kremlin has said. The meeting is part of a series that began in 2019 and has drawn different levels of attendance since.
The first summit, held in Sochi in 2019, was attended by 43 African heads of state or government. The 2023 meeting in St. Petersburg, held after Russia invaded Ukraine, drew only 17 heads of state. Dakar-based analyst Beverly Ochieng has said that economic incentives to attend the Russia summit are much more limited than those offered by the U.S.-Africa and China-Africa summits, and that political reasons are the main motive for going.
The economic gap is visible in trade figures. Russia's trade with Africa was about $28 billion in 2025, compared with $348 billion for China. The European Union exchanged nearly 355 billion euros ($395 billion) in goods with Africa in 2024.
Putin said in October 2026 that Russia's aim was not to "steal something from Africa" but to "develop together." He also said Russia had supplied 13 million metric tons of agricultural products to Africa in the first nine months of the year. Chatham House reported that Russian agricultural exports to Africa grew 35 percent in value in the first half of 2026, to $2.9 billion. The Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum was held in Moscow on October 28, 2026.
Security ties are a central part of the picture. Over 40 African countries reportedly have military cooperation agreements with Russia, according to the Congress Research Service. On October 27, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia had discussed deepening military-technical cooperation with Algeria. Russia has also confirmed it will keep helping to strengthen the armed forces of member states of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) and their "Unified Force." The Kremlin has said it plans to step up cooperation with African countries, including in "sensitive areas" such as defence and security.
In the Sahel, the Wagner group has given way to Africa Corps, which is controlled by Russia's Ministry of Defence. Human Rights Watch has accused Africa Corps forces in Mali of killing civilians and torturing detainees. Journalists for Justice documented 502 African deaths by June 2026 among Africans recruited to fight in Russia's war in Ukraine.
Several commercial projects are also under way. In Mali, construction has begun on a gold refinery backed by Russia's Yadran Group, in which the Malian state holds a 62 percent stake. In Guinea, the Russian aluminium giant Rusal operates bauxite mines and an alumina plant. In Niger, Rosatom subsidiaries are discussing uranium projects with the government after the takeover of a mine formerly operated by France's Orano.
Russia's Foreign Ministry has listed peaceful nuclear energy, independent payment systems and food security among its priority topics with African partners. A Russia-Africa Cooperation Plan for 2026 to 2029 is in place.
