On May 18, Deputy Director of the Department of Africa at the Russian Foreign Ministry Oleg Ozerov was appointed Ambassador-at-Large and Head of the Secretariat of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum. The Forum’s secretariat will be preparing for the second Russia-Africa Summit due in 2022, as per the agreements reached at the first ever Russia-Africa Summit held in Sochi on October 23 and 24 last year.
The forum secretariat will also be responsible for organising annual political consultations for the foreign ministers of Russia and three member countries of the African Union (the country holding the chairmanship of the union, the one before it and the one that will succeed it). In addition, the secretariat will coordinate the efforts to promote cooperation between Russian and African integration associations, ensure political and diplomatic support for projects in Africa carried out with Russia’s leading state-run and private companies involvement, and for other aspects of preparations for Russia-Africa summits.
