The Russian Construction Complex is a landmark event for the entire construction industry

The results of the XV All-Russian conference "Russian Construction Complex: Challenges and Opportunities" were summed up by Anton Moroz, Vice-President of NOSTROI, Vice-President of the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the main ideologist of the conference since its foundation.

"I would like to thank all the colleagues who have supported this Conference for 15 years, and I hope they will continue to support it. Indeed, it has become a landmark event not only for our city, but also for the entire construction industry," Moroz said.

Vice President NOSTROI expressed special gratitude for the support of the conference and participation in it to the Ministry of Construction of the Russian Federation, the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, the State Duma, the National Association of Builders and the National Association of Prospectors.

#AREA #NOSTROY #Africa #Russia #construction

Cooperation between Russia and Africa in the area of mineral resources requires legislative support

Round table "Legislative support for economic cooperation with African countries in the area of subsoil use" will be held on October 14.

During the event, representatives of government bodies, scientific organizations, business structures, development institutions, and state corporations will discuss possible measures to establish joint work between our country and the states of the continent.

As part of the round table, Andrey Gromov, member of the board of AREA, founder of the consulting agency GR-Group, will present his vision.

❗️The purpose of the discussion is to develop proposals aimed at stimulating the development of economic relations between Russian companies and African partners in the field of subsoil use.

🗓Date and time: 14.10.2024, 14:00.

The broadcast will be available on the website of the State Duma.

#AREA #RussiaAfrica #cooperation #StateDuma

Russian actors should join forces in Africa

This conclusion was reached by experts during the Round table "Legislative support for economic cooperation with African countries in the field of subsoil use", held in the State Duma.

Alexander Babakov, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma, made an introductory speech at the event:

"When discussing relations between Russia and Africa, it is necessary to emphasize not so much the need to support Russian initiatives as their approval by African states, which in the current conditions find an opportunity to declare their position. And this position is in most cases in solidarity with the position of Russia," the expert stressed.

Member of the Board of AREA, founder of the GR-Group consulting agency Andrei Gromov, in turn, voiced a comprehensive assessment of Russia's situation in Africa:

"African countries are requesting support in developing a national development strategy, and they are ready to rely on the experience of our experts. African countries such as Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, which relatively recently got rid of the French administration, were simply left without documentation, without professionals, without everything. They should definitely be helped, especially since each of the employees of the enterprise on the ground is directly interested in development of these territories — these are mutual interests."

Following the results of the Round Table, a resolution was presented, which outlined recommendations for authorities to optimize administrative procedures for interaction, and also emphasized the need to establish cooperation with Russian companies operating on the African continent for integrated project planning and implementation.

#AREA #Russiafrica #cooperation #StateDuma

"Cooperation and work with resources": The State Duma named the necessary measures for the development of relations between Russia and Africa

During the Round table "Legislative support for economic cooperation with African countries in the field of subsoil use", member of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Director of the Institute of Africa of the Russian Academy of Sciences Irina Abramova stated the need for an integrated approach in Africa:

"It is necessary that not one company should enter, but several companies at once into one cluster. It is necessary to seek the creation of free economic zones, tax incentives from African states and simultaneously resolve humanitarian issues," the expert stressed.

Tatyana Dovgalenko, recently appointed head of the secretariat of the Russia-Africa Forum, added in her speech that the continent needs to translate its "wealth" into sustainable economic growth:

"African countries are faced with the task of converting liabilities into assets. That is, it is necessary to transfer their passive wealth, which they have in the form of resources, into an asset, into sustainable economic growth, into improving the well-being of their population."

#RussiaАfrica #EconomyАfrica #Abramova #Dovgalenko

The dialogue between the peoples of Africa and Russia will take place within the framework of Rusafro Expo2024

The Rusafro Expo2024 International Business Forum will be held on October 16 at the Patrice Lumumba Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (RUDN).

Within the framework of the forum, the RUDN will become the venue for many events aimed at developing dialogue between peoples.

A plenary session, exhibitions, conferences, and round tables will be organized during the forum. The participants of the event will get acquainted with educational programs, take part in cultural events and establish contacts with representatives of other countries. This will contribute to the creation of new joint projects in various fields.

Andrey Gromov, member of the Board of AREA, founder of the GR-Group consulting agency, will speak at the plenary session.

The event was organized by the Russian-African Club and the African Business Club with the support of the secretariat of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum (MFA of Russia).

The forum will be held on October 16 from 10:00 to 18:00.

#RussiaAfrica #AREA #Russia #EconomyAfrica #RusafroExpo2024

What is essential to develop cooperation between Russia and Africa?

On October 16, the First International B2B Business Forum Rusafro Expo 2024 was held, during which representatives of government, business and state corporations from Russia and African countries discussed the development and strengthening of Russian-African cooperation, including in the field of trade.

Andrey Gromov, member of the Board of AREA, founder of the GR-Group consulting agency, named the main missing link for realizing the continent's resource potential:

"Africa's potential cannot be effectively used without creating its own industrial facilities and processing enterprises. And this is impossible without development of energy. Therefore, following the results of the first Russia-Africa summit, we decided to create an association of Russian manufacturers of energy equipment, Russian suppliers of energy services, AREA (African–Russian Energy Association)."

The association embraces various companies that offer a wide range of management services, building network complexes, creating macro-projects, projects in gas generation, solar and wind energy are actively developing. Representatives of AREA also offer flexible solutions for payment system, including barter schemes, the expert added.

"Africa is already showing high rates of economic growth, although there is no high industrial production on the continent. However, if we engage in the development of energy and, accordingly, industry, then the growth rate will increase by a multiple of 5-10 times," Gromov concluded.

In addition, Anatoly Bashkin, Director of the Africa Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, stated Russia's full support for Africa's aspirations to strengthen economic sovereignty.

"Russia, as a country with solid potential and sufficient competencies in various fields of the economy, modern technologies, is ready to share its best practices, knowledge and experience with African friends, and carry out mutually beneficial trade interactions," the diplomat noted.

#AREA #Russiafrica #RusAfroExpo2024

Government support plays a significant role in relations between Russia and Africa

This was stated by Vitaly Stepanov, CEO of the Moscow Export Center, during the First International B2B Business Forum Rusafro Expo 2024.

"The share of African countries in Moscow's non-primary non-energy exports (NEE) is 13%. Moscow's share in the Russian Federation in this indicator is 30.5%. That is, a third of all exports of finished products come from the capital of Russia," he said.

Stepanov named the top countries in terms of exports of petroleum products from Moscow: Egypt – 29.3%, Algeria – 17.9%, Sudan – 9.7%, Libya – 8.3%.

Financial support from the Moscow government is already provided upon the conclusion of contracts. It consists of two measures: export cashback and an export grant. It is possible to receive up to 10 million rubles in Grand. This is additional support that an exporter can receive simply for his work, the expert added.

#AREA #Russiafrica #RusAfroExpo2024

Russia and Africa are laying fundamental foundations of socio-economic development

On the air of the pan-african TV channel For You Media, experts discussed the speech of the Executive Secretary of the African-Russian Energy Association (AREA) Andrey Gromov during the First International B2B Business Forum Rusafro Expo 2024.

Particular interest was on the expert's statement on barriers to cooperation between Russia and Africa, in particular administrative and bureaucratic ones. To remove these barriers, AREA, together with the Expert Council for the development of comprehensive cooperation with African countries under Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Alexander Babakov, held a joint meeting in July this year to identify optimal measures to support cooperation in the energy sector.

"Reliable electricity supply is necessary for the development of industry and other sectors of the economy, including the service sector, as well as education and culture. It is with these fundamental foundations of economic development that Russia is ready to help Africa — to develop and implement complex projects of high complexity. Russia has such experience thanks to the powerful Soviet school," Gromov added.

Rishabh Sethi, an expert analyst on international relations and a civilian diplomat, Mikhail Pozdnyakov, head of the French department of the African Initiative News Agency, and Yulia Berg, a political scientist, director of IBAC, founder of the Globus expert club, participated in the discussion.

#AREA #RusafroExpo2024 #RussiaAfrica #economyAfrica

The railway connection will increase the volume of Russian exports to Africa to 50 billion dollars and even more

More than $16 billion is the volume of Russia's exports to African countries today. By 2030, the figure is projected to increase to $50 billion. That could be more, but if railway connection is built on the continent. This was stated in an interview to the Russian Railways Partner by the executive secretary of the African-Russian Energy Association (AREA) Andrey Gromov.

Africa has enormous potential not only as a resource base, but also as a sales market. In 2018, Paul Kagame, the head of the African Union, proposed creation of a free economic zone, and 44 African states supported this decision. There are no customs duties between the countries, therefore, to realize this potential, a wide network of railways across Africa is necessary for the development of the continent.

African countries need a comprehensive development plan. Russia is a country that is strong in creating macro–systems and interstate, supranational projects. Russian engineers could help Africa with this. This plan should be connected not only with the laying of paths, but also with the creation of energy potential, with the design of the development of settlements, the expert noted.

"Our organization, AREA, is currently working on creating a joint strategy for socio-economic cooperation between Russia and African countries. We invite companies to participate in the development of this document. The final concept of the development plan will be presented at the third Russia–Africa summit," Gromov added.

Therefore, the railway is a great help. Some countries could simply become logistics hubs, and this would allow them to realize their potential faster, the expert concluded.

#AREA #Africa #Railways #RussianRailways

The Russia–Africa Partnership Forum has begun

On November 9-10, 2024, the First Ministerial Conference of the Russia–Africa Partnership Forum started at Sirius University.

The event, organized by the RosCongress Foundation, will bring together the foreign ministers of Russia and African countries, as well as representatives of government agencies, business and the media.

During the conference, participants will discuss key issues of cooperation in the fields of security, economics and humanitarian cooperation. The topics of discussion will include international information security, the fight against terrorism, the prevention of arms race in outer space, as well as trade, economic and investment partnership.

Within the framework of the forum, 19 panel sessions are planned, in which special attention will be paid to interaction between African countries and the Eurasian Economic Union.

#Russia #Africa #RussiaAfrica #MinisterialConference

A unique book by Russia about Africa and for Africa

The Africa 2025: Prospects and Challenges handbook was presented at the First Ministerial Conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum. The English-language expert and analytical publication was prepared by a team of experts from the Center for African Studies of the National Research University Higher School of Economics, led by its director Andrey Maslov.

The handbook also examined the state of the electric power industry in African countries in the section "African resources in African markets: how to make the energy and mining industries work for Africa." In the conclusions to this chapter, the experts proposed the following option:

"Great potential in this sector is associated with digital solutions. The spread of unmanned aerial vehicle technologies, cheaper data center technologies, satellite imaging and the formation of African national companies will allow African states to form integrated systems for managing their own natural resources.

These systems will help to better understand the structure of domestic markets, predict the dynamics of their development and offer more promising projects to foreign investors."

The electronic version of the handbook is available at the link.

#Russia #Africa #RussiaAfrica #MinisterialConference

South African nuclear power industry: deal with Rosatom remains on the agenda

South Africa has already had the experience of launching the Koberg nuclear power plant with reactors of the French project with a capacity of 1.88 gigawatts. This is just over three percent of the total installed capacity of the South African power grid. And this is a drop in the ocean, said Yulia Berg, director of the International Business Acceleration Center (IBAC), in an interview with Monocle.

South Africa has been experiencing an acute energy shortage for a long time, every year the problem becomes only more noticeable: the many hours of rolling power outages in Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town have reached the scale of a national disaster.

Initially, it was planned to build a new nuclear power plant according to the French project, but as a result, preference was given to Rosatom. The deal with Russian Rosatom for the construction of a new powerful station was initiated by ex-President (2009-2018) of South Africa Jacob Zuma, who also secured his country's place in the BRICS.

However, despite the high-level agreements, the project met with opposition in the country, as not everyone wanted to further strengthen South Africa's relations with Russia, and the media claimed it Zuma's selfish interest against the background of corruption scandals surrounding him.

The Russian side did not carry out the necessary work to inform the public, which eventually led to the blocking of the project in parliament, the expert added.

However, despite the mistakes, Rosatom's approach to work in the southernmost country of the continent has been adjusted, and the project itself is still on the agenda. No bilateral meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Cyril Ramaphosa is complete without discussing Russia's construction of a large nuclear power plant in South Africa. And, of course, as a result, it would be great to see a project in this country comparable to the Egyptian El-Dabaa station. Perhaps, in the future, the New BRICS Development Bank and, in general, the strengthening of the association will play a role.

#Africa #RussiaAfrica #energy

The sixth BRICS MMF Economic Congress will be held in St. Petersburg

The cultural capital of Russia will host the Economic Congress of the VI International Municipal Forum of the BRICS countries on November 21 and 22. The event will be held with the support of the Russian Foreign Ministry and Rossotrudnichestvo. The congress will be attended by representatives of foreign states and subjects of the Russian Federation.

On November 21, the forum will host a plenary session on "Interregional and inter-municipal cooperation as a key factor in the economic development of the BRICS countries." It will be presented in several blocks:

(A) Public health protection;
(B) Economics and foreign economic activity;
(C) Youth policy and society;
(D) The Arctic: challenges and prospects;
E) Business tourism development;
(F) Ecology and environmental management.

In block B, the African-Russian Energy Association (AREA) co-organizes the session "Small and Medium-sized businesses: successful experience of Russian-African cooperation and barriers to acceleration".

During the session, experts intend to discuss prospects for cooperation for small and medium-sized businesses, identify patterns among real examples of successful business projects, identify current problems and ways to solve them. The participants also plan to identify new opportunities that arise due to the entry into the BRICS of South Africa, Ethiopia and Egypt.

#Africa #RussiaAfrica #business

Small and medium-sized businesses in Africa discussed in St. Petersburg

On November 21, within the framework of the Economic Congress of the VI International Municipal Forum of the BRICS countries in St. Petersburg, a round table "Small and medium-sized businesses: successful experience of Russian-African cooperation and acceleration barriers" was held. It was organized by the African-Russian Energy Association (AREA), the All-Russian Public Organization "Investment Russia" and the Fund for the Development of Municipal Territories.

According to Yulia Berg, director of the International Business Acceleration Center (IBAC), moderator of the round table, just 10-15 years ago, small business in Africa looked more like an adventure, which cannot be said now.

"Over the past few years, a large number of platforms have been opened, both for discussion and for active contacts at the level of government ministries and departments. They open up new opportunities and support measures specifically for representatives of small and medium–sized businesses," Berg said.

She noted that now more and more Russian citizens are coming to Africa who want to start their own business or invest in sustainable projects. In this context, the expert singled out South Africa. Due to its long participation in the BRICS, the country offers additional support measures and platforms for active business communication, development of relations and creation of communities.

Despite the optimistic forecasts, there are many problems when working with African businesses. They were voiced by the President of the All-Russian public organization "Investment Russia" Stanislav Aranovich. Among these are public payments, logistics, climate and business features.

"If large Russian companies on the African continent are working relatively successfully, small and medium-sized businesses have a rather difficult time."

At the same time, the representative of Investment Russia, Alexander Mazur, urged entrepreneurs not to be afraid of risks and to pave the way first.

"You will need to take risks somewhere, you should not be afraid of this. For our part, we need to take risks somewhere, even lose the first delivery somewhere. This is normal, you can't hope that everything will work out right away. But in order for everything to work out exactly, we need to work systematically and apply new approaches," he stressed.

In turn, Igor Evert, Chairman of the Permanent Commission for the Study of the African continent of the St. Petersburg Branch of the Russian Geographical Society, insisted that business in Africa is a long-term project.

"This is a program for the future. If we want to work with businessmen from Africa, we need to work with children," the expert said.

#Africa #RussiaAfrica #business

AREA management and Investment Russia have signed a cooperation agreement

Following the results of the round table "Small and medium-sized businesses: successful experience of Russian-African cooperation and acceleration barriers", Stanislav Aranovich, President of the All-Russian Public Organization Investment Russia, and Yulia Berg, member of the Board of AREA, Director of the International Business Promotion Center (IBAC), signed a joint agreement.

The need to conclude a document is due to the importance of cooperation and joining efforts for effective work in international markets, including in Africa. Both sides consider it important to develop energy sectors in all countries and increase the share of modern high-tech technologies. They pay special attention to the expansion of the use of renewable energy sources.

What will the parties' partnerships be aimed at?

☑️ Consolidation of efforts to develop business ties between companies from Russia and Africa;
☑️ Exchange of experience and legal regulation of doing business on the continent;
☑️ Raising awareness of foreign actors about Russian developments;
☑️ Promoting creation of new communication platforms;
☑️ Consolidating the efforts of organizations to improve their performance in new markets.

#Africa #RussiaAfrica #business #AREA

Russian businessmen are advised not to be afraid of risks in during work in Africa

As part of the economic congress of the VI International Municipal Forum of the BRICS countries in St. Petersburg, a round table "Small and medium business: successful experience of Russian-African cooperation and acceleration barriers" was held.

The event was organized by the African-Russian Energy Association (AREA), All-Russian public organization "Investment Russia" and the Fund for the development of territories of municipalities.

As a result of the round table, a cooperation agreement was signed between AREA and "Investment Russia".

In his speech, entrepreneur and representative of the All-Russian public organization "Investment Russia" Alexander Mazur emphasized the importance of representatives of small and medium-sized businesses in the Russian Federation not being afraid to take risks and paving the way first.

"Somewhere you will need to take risks, and this should not cause fear. We must be prepared for risks and even for possible losses in the first deliveries. This is normal, you cannot expect instant success. But to achieve success, you need to work systematically and apply new approaches," Mazur said.

#Africa #RussiaAfrica #business #AREA #Mazur

The desire for cooperation between Russia and Africa is mutual

Stanislav Aranovich, President of the All-Russian Public Organization "Investment Russia", during the round table "Small and medium-sized businesses: successful experience of Russian-African cooperation and barriers to acceleration", gave specific examples of interaction between entrepreneurs of the Russian Federation and Africa.

According to him, everyone with whom he conducts a dialogue wants to interact with Russian companies.

"In some countries we even see Russian flags, somewhere we move around in Yandex.Taxi (YanGo)," said the President of Investment Russia.

Aranovich said that Africa produces only a tenth of what it consumes, and although it can be perceived as an importing continent, everything is not so clear.

"You can work there not only with exports, but in completely different industries. There are many examples of imports," he said.

So, entrepreneurs from the Kirov region buy African coffee to roast. And Stanislav Aranovich himself drinks cocoa from Equatorial Guinea and calls it the best in the world.

At the same time, the matter is not limited to the economy alone. For example, the Kazan Circus teaches Africans circus art for free, and the Nizhny Novgorod Zoo wants to buy animals in Africa. In addition, cooperation in the educational sphere is increasing - the number of quotas for budget places for African students is increasing and nine-month preparatory courses with the study of the Russian language are held free of charge.

#Africa #RussiaAfrica #business #AREA #Aranovich

The geopolitical transformation has benefited Russian-African cooperation

Foreign policy in the context of African countries has shown that the geopolitical transformation has influenced the attitude of representatives of large, small and medium-sized businesses in Russia to the African continent. This was stated by Julia Berg, Director of the International Business Promotion Center (IBAC).

According to her, the actors of state corporations, as well as medium and small businesses, looked at Africa with a fresh look and saw more prospects.

"It is important to note here that 10-15 years ago, the small business that was present on the continent was rather adventurous. Now we see much more systematic work, including due to the fact that over the past few years a large number of platforms, discussion and active contacts have been opened at the level of ministries and departments," Berg said during the round table "Small and medium-sized businesses: successful experience of Russian-African cooperation and barriers to acceleration."

The expert added that all of the above opens up new opportunities for representatives of small and medium-sized businesses, providing them with new support measures. For this reason, more and more Russian citizens are either launching their business in Africa, or investing in existing projects.

Against this background, South Africa stands out in particular, where, thanks to its long-term membership in the BRICS, even more support measures are being offered and more platforms for business communication of various scales are being created.

#Africa #RussiaAfrica #business #AREA #Berg