Where will the second Russia-Africa Economic Forum and Summit be held? Even though there has already been some speculation, the question remains open.
At the end of 2019, after the first summit in Sochi, it was widely reported in the media that the second summit was to be held in Ethiopia. It was suggested by the Ethiopian Prime-Minister, but no official decisions were announced at the time.
In July 2020, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with three Foreign Ministers of the states serving as the current, previous and next Chairs of the African Union: Naledi Pandor (South Africa), Sameh Shoukry (Egypt), and Marie Tumba Nzeza (DRC). The meeting resulted in Lavrov’s statement that the second Russia-Africa Summit will be held in an African country.
The venue for the next Russia-Africa Summit is to be determined with the involvement of the Chairperson of the African Union for 2022.
According to The Roscongress Foundation, which organized the first Russia-Africa Summit and Economic Forum in Sochi in 2019, the second one will also take place in Sochi. It has already been over a year since the «Sochi 2022» first appeared on the home page of the summit’s official website.
The venue for the next Russia-Africa Summit is to be determined with the involvement of the Chairperson of the African Union for 2022, which will be announced on February 6-7 at the 34th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union. The ECOWAS has already endorsed the President of the Republic of Senegal to take over.
The Chairperson of the African Union is the ceremonial head of the African Union, elected by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government for a one-year term. It rotates among the continent’s five regions. A candidate must be supported by at least two-thirds of the member states or by consensus. In 2022, it will be the turn of West Africa to rule.