On July 28, 2025, the Third Russian-African Conference of the Valdai Discussion Club was held in Pretoria, South Africa. The title was “Realpolitik in a Divided World: Rethinking Russia-South Africa Ties in a Global and African Context”. The South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) was the Valdai Club's partner in organising the conference.
The conference was attended by more than 60 experts from Egypt, Zimbabwe, C？te d'Ivoire, Russia, Tanzania and South Africa. The conference generated great media interest in South Africa; journalists from Russian and local media attended its open sessions.
Cooperation between Russia and African countries is one of the high-priority areas of expert work of the Valdai Discussion Club. The conference consolidated the Club’s tradition of holding Russian-African forums. Last year, a similar conference was held in Tanzania, and two years ago it was held in St. Petersburg and timed to coincide with the Russia-Africa summit.
A special Club report on the state and prospects of bilateral relations between Russia and South Africa was prepared for the conference. Its authors were Daria Zelenova from the Institute of Africa of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Sanusha Naidu from the Institute for Global Dialogue (South Africa). A series of expert comments on the conference topics was also published on the Club's website.
The conference kicked off with welcoming remarks from Andrey Bystritskiy, Chairman of the Board of the Foundation for Development and Support of the Valdai Discussion Club, Roman Ambarov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of South Africa, Phumzile Mazibuko, Chief Director, South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation, and Steven Gruzd, Programme Head of African Governance and Diplomacy at the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA). The mutual intention of both countries to strengthen and develop mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation was emphasised, and the political importance and significance of expert diplomacy in this process were noted.
The first session of the conference was titled “G20 and BRICS: Assessing Strategic Roles in an Evolving Global Order”. Russia and South Africa, as well as other African countries, are developing close cooperation within the BRICS platform, as well as via the Group of Twenty. This year, South Africa is chairing the G20. The session participants discussed practical steps that the South African chairmanship could take in order to implement its key priorities. It was noted that Russia fully supports South Africa’s G20 presidency. It was emphasised that the priorities of the G20 presidencies that have been held by the Global South countries (Indonesia, India, Brazil and now South Africa) over the past four years are consistent with the goals and objectives of BRICS.
The session also discussed practical recommendations for strengthening the cohesion and effectiveness of BRICS, primarily in the economic sphere. It was emphasised that BRICS and its member countries should take a more active position in proposing their own non-Western investment mechanisms, their own projects to strengthen food security, combat climate change, in the field of high technology, etc. This is important because the countries of the Global South would have a wider choice when making decisions in these areas, since now the issue of investment resources and technological know-how is largely limited to Western proposals. The fundamental importance of strengthening political solidarity between the countries of the Global Non-West and the South in today’s dynamically changing world politics and economics was also emphasised.
The second session of the conference discussed "Humanitarian Cooperation and the Role of Historical Memory in Russia's Relations With South Africa and Other African Countries." One of the topics discussed in detail at the session was the historical memory of the Soviet legacy in Africa. Soviet aid to young independent African states, as well as the Soviet Union's support for the struggle of the African National Congress against the apartheid regime (which is especially important in the context of South Africa), still retain not only historical but also political significance. The remembrance and gratitude of the people of Africa contribute to a better perception of Russia today in public opinion in African countries and help strengthen trust in political dialogue.
At the same time, the speeches of the conference participants emphasised that the younger generation of Africans, due to the relatively long time that has passed since the Soviet period, is no longer so closely connected with the Soviet legacy. Over the years, it is beginning to have less and less significance for them. Therefore, the conference speakers said that it is necessary, on the one hand, to conduct educational work in this regard. On the other hand, in order to strengthen Russia's image in African countries, it is advisable to place greater emphasis on the positive aspects of modern Russian-African cooperation, and on the differences between Russia and the Western countries in those specific economic and humanitarian projects that Russia is implementing on the continent. It was emphasised that an ordinary resident of a particular African country should feel the benefit of Russian projects, that the visibility of Russian programmes for the general public should be increased, and only in this way can the hearts of young Africans be won.
In this context, the session touched upon the issue of the accessibility of Russian media in African countries. Due to the fact, that the television signal to African countries most often goes through Western satellite television broadcasting systems; after 2022 they switched off the broadcast of Russian TV channels to African countries. As a result, access to Russian media through traditional satellite TV channels is now difficult or has been completely terminated for many African countries. In this regard, the importance of other formats of Russia's media policy on the continent is growing, via the Internet, via social networks, through deepening cooperation with local media and via other means.
Another major topic discussed at the session was the practical implementation of cooperation between Russia and African countries in the field of education. A steady increase in interest from both sides in strengthening partnership projects in this area was noted. The number of African students studying in Russia is growing, joint inter-university programmes have been launched and are being implemented to foster student exchange programmes, academic mobility, etc. Among the tasks in this area indicated by the session participants was the strengthening and scaling of vocational education projects that Russia could offer locally, without African students leaving the country, as well as a combination of both Russian and local languages in joint educational programmes. The language barrier often becomes an obstacle to expanding the circle of African students in various Russian educational programmes.
The third session of the conference focused on the “Bilateral Relations Between Russia and South Africa: Current State and Prospects". It was largely based on the aforementioned joint report prepared for the conference. The historical evolution of bilateral relations was traced, both during the struggle against apartheid and after the African National Congress came to power in 1994. The specifics of the current moment were noted, both internationally and in the domestic political context in South Africa, in connection with the formation of a coalition government in South Africa last year. Attention was also drawn to the fact that the fairly close and trusting political cooperation of the recent past and present unfortunately has not yet been accompanied by the scaling of bilateral economic ties. The volume of mutual trade turnover between our countries is quite small. The session discussed proposals for various Russian projects in the field of infrastructure, energy, food security and others. It noted the importance of the media and domestic political factor in South Africa for making appropriate decisions, as well as possible practical recommendations in this regard.
The fourth session of the conference was titled “Trump and the World Order”. Now it is obvious that the existing balance of power has changed dramatically both in world politics and in the global economy in connection with the actions of US President Donald Trump. South Africa has become one of the main targets for Trump's criticism, not only on foreign trade issues, but also on domestic political issues. Trump sends conflicting signals regarding Russia. Naturally, the current situation makes a confidential expert political dialogue between our countries especially appropriate in connection with the Trump factor. The session discussed the reasons for the popularity of Trumpism as an ideological and socio-political phenomenon. One of the session participants defined Trump's policy as “postmodern imperialism”.
Also, ways to respond to the dynamically changing global situation in connection with Trump were discussed in a frank and sometimes sharp manner. The advisability of strengthening solidarity both among BRICS members and, in general, between the countries of the Global Non-West and the South in relation to Trump's actions was emphasised. The South African participants of the conference called for more effective and more real support for South Africa from other non-Western countries, since South Africa is currently one of the main targets of Trump's criticism. In this regard, it was noted that in the absence of such support, South Africa may sometimes get the impression that it is left alone with Trump, who understands this and therefore acts according to the "weak link" principle.
In general, the Third Russian-African Conference of the Valdai Discussion Club, held in cooperation with SAIIA, was held in a productive and trusting manner. Important and pressing topics were discussed, and practical recommendations were outlined. The Valdai International Discussion Club intends to continue to develop its expert work on Africa.
Views expressed are of individual Members and Contributors, rather than the Club's, unless explicitly stated otherwise.