In March 2022, the Center for Russian-African Relations and Foreign Policy of African Countries Studies of the Institute for African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences held a conference with international participation on the topic “Cooperation of the members of the Eurasian Economic Union with African countries”.

The Conference took place at a difficult time, when the international situation sharply worsened that required a rethinking of our country’s relations with the outside world as a whole and with important partners, including the states of Africa and our closest neighbors, the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), where Russia is also a member. The event, which was held in the format of a videoconference, was attended by leading Russian specialists in African studies, the scholars from the Institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Economics of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, workers of practical organizations, including the Eurasian Economic Commission, teachers, post-graduate students and applicants.

Among the main problems discussed there were: Session 1 - global aspects of contemporary international relations and prospects of multilateral cooperation; Session 2 -bilateral cooperation of the EAEU members with African countries; Session 3 - positions of the maincompetitors forEAEU countriesin Africa. The reports contained recommendations on strengthening Russia’s mutually beneficial partnershipwith the EAEU member states and African states. These recommendations may be usedpractically by both the business community, as evidenced by the interest in this conference from a number of Russian companies, and by practical organizations of the EAEU members.