Contacts with Africa, Putin’s 'extremely tight' schedule: Kremlin aide’s statements

Russia-Africa SummitContacts with Africa, Putin’s 'extremely tight' schedule: Kremlin aide’s statements Forty-eight countries have confirmed their participation in the Russia-Africa summit, twenty-two of them will be represented at the top levelRussian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov© Kristina Solovyova/POOL/TASSMOSCOW, October 26. /TASS/. Russia's presidential aide for foreign policy affairs, Yury Ushakov, has described the upcoming week in Vladimir Putin’s schedule as "extremely tight," noting that some "hectic days" lie ahead. TASS has summarized the Kremlin aide’s key statements. President’s schedule The upcoming week in Vladimir Putin’s schedule is going to be "extremely tight": "To be honest, we have some hectic days ahead. It’s going to be an extremely, extremely tight week - from Tuesday through Friday." On October 27, Putin will take part in the 8th summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum. Putin will deliver a speech at the summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) where he will "mention problems, including of geopolitical nature, the gas industry faces, and highlight areas of work that are priority, from our point of view, to solve existing problems." The GECF summit will yield a Moscow declaration. On October 28 and 29, the president will take part in the 3rd Russia-Africa summit in Moscow. Putin’s schedule at the Russia-Africa summit will be incredibly busy: "I emphasize that they will be very grand, even a little chaotic (the events - TASS). But we will try to do everything, we will try to get everything in on time." A reception on behalf of Russian President Vladimir Putin in honor of the participants of the Russia-Africa summit will be held in the Kremlin's Faceted Chamber in the evening on October 28. Forty-eight countries have confirmed their participation, twenty-two of them will be represented at the top level. In his address at the first plenary session of the Third Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum, Russian President Vladimir Putin will assess the prospects for relations between Russia and African nations across sectors including agriculture and energy. Special attention will be focused on Russia’s cooperation with African countries within the United Nations. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Burundi’s leader Evariste Ndayishimiye will speak at the first plenary session of the third Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum. They will also make statements for the press following the Russia-Africa Summit. Putin and leaders of African countries will visit an exhibition of Russia’s advanced solutions in key economic sectors at Gostiny Dvor. The Russia-Africa summit is expected to yield three important documents. It is also planned to sign 33 intergovernmental documents with African countries after the Russia-Africa summit. President’s meetings The president will hold five bilateral meetings on October 27, and 24 such meetings in all on the summits’ sidelines. On the sidelines of the GECF summit, Putin will meet with the leaders of Iran, Qatar, Mozambique, and Libya. On October 28, Putin will hold a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on October 28, before the official reception in honor of the participants of the Russia-Africa summit. Later that day, after the official reception, Putin will meet with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. A meeting with President of the Republic of Congo Denis Sassou Nguesso will conclude the day. Putin's bilateral meetings with African leaders will be the most important part of the Russia-Africa summit. The Russia-Africa Summit organized so that Putin can hold talks with every visiting leader. Putin will hold a meeting with African Union Chairperson and President of Burundi Evariste Ndayishimiye on October 2. On October 29, Putin will meet with the presidents of Madagascar Michael Randrianirina, of Zimbabwe Emmerson Mnangagwa, of Namibia Netumbo Nandi·Ndaitwah, as well as with Chairman of the Sovereign Council of Sudan Abdel Fattah al-Burhan On October 30, Putin will hold 11 bilateral meetings with leaders of African states: "Friday, October 30, will be wholly devoted precisely to bilateral negotiations." Specifically, the Russian leader will meet with the heads of Ghana, Mali, Mauritania, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Togolese Republic, Eritrea, Somalia and the Union of the Comoros. Multipolarity Putin will give an assessment of the evolving multipolar world order at the first plenary session of the Russia-Africa Summit. Russia is an ally in building a multipolar, fair world order free from dictate and double standards. Contacts with Africa Moscow is expanding its diplomatic presence in African countries; since 2022, it has opened three embassies, and five other diplomatic missions have resumed operations during this period: "Russia is expanding its diplomatic presence in Africa. Since 2022, we have opened three embassies: in South Sudan, The Gambia, and the Union of the Comoros. Five diplomatic missions have resumed their work: in Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Togo." As many as 48 Russian embassies are already operating across Africa, and Moscow is planning to open another one, its 49th, in Liberia: "Overall, we have a solid number of embassies [across Africa]. We are quite well represented on the continent." Russia is closely cooperating with African countries within international organizations, first of all the United Nations, on such pressing problems as combating terrorism, drug trafficking, and cybercrime. African countries have begun to cooperate more intensively with BRICS: "Relations with the African Union are developing dynamically, and cooperation between Africans and BRICS intensifies." The idea of the Russia-Africa summit is to foster closer cooperation in all areas. Russia’s trade with African countries exceeded $27 billion in 2025, up by 1.5 times on 2023. Agriculture is one of the key areas of Russia’s cooperation with African countries. Russia sent more than 18 mln metric tons of grain to Africa last year and 13 mln metric tons more were shipped during the nine months of this year. Russian mineral fertilizer supplies climbed above 2.2 mln metric tons in 2026. Education is another major cooperation area between Russia and Africa; more than 40,000 African students are currently studying in Russia. Gas Exporting Countries Forum Russia invited Turkmenistan and South Africa to the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) summit as guest countries: "Apart from Forum participants and observers, we invited two guest countries, namely Turkmenistan and the Republic of South Africa." The African nations account for almost a half of seats in the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) and OPEC. Russia considers important to provide for reliable and stable gas supplies, taking into account growing needs across the globe: "Considering growing gas needs, we consider important to ensure stability and reliability of supplies and guarantee further confident development of countries." The global gas industry is in a challenging situation and needs a floor for the depoliticized dialogue and the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) fits this role. Russia assumed when preparing the summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum that its countries promote natural gas as a practical kind of fuel. Global demand for natural gas is expected to grow by 28% by 2055, to 5.4 trillion cubic meters. Global liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports may reach 650 mln cubic meters in 5-10 years, exceeding the 2025 level by almost 50%. 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