38 of 54 countries, Africa did not send their leaders to a summit in St. Petersburg

Most of the leaders of the African states refused to participate in the Russia -Africa summit, which will be held on July 27-28 in St. Petersburg with the participation of Vladimir Putin. About this writes The Moscow Times.

According to the assistant to the President of Russia Yuri Ushakov, only 17 of the 54 countries of Africa will be represented at the level of heads of states. The delegations of ten African countries will be headed by the prime ministers. Almost half of the participants in the summit sent a delegation below. Seventeen of them are headed by deputy prime ministers and ministers, five will be represented by ambassadors, five more refused to participate in the event.

The Ambassador for Special Orders of the Russian Foreign Ministry Oleg Ozerov in an interview with RIA Novosti said that invitations to the summit were sent to the heads of all African states. According to him, in Moscow, with understanding, they relate to those who decided not to come. Vladimir Putin will meet with every African leader who will come to the summit. According to Ushakov, the President of Russia has planned negotiations with the leaders of Egypt, Mozambique, Burundi, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Eritrea, the Central African Republic, Libya, Cameroon, Senegal, South Africa, Burkina-Faso, Guinea-Bisau, Mali, Congo.

On July 28, Putin will speak at the summit with a speech in which he will talk about the formation of a "new world order" based on the "multipolarity and equality" of all states, Ushakov said.

The other day, Putin published an article in which he reminded the countries of Africa about Soviet economic and technical assistance, announced the "strong and deep roots" of Russian-African friendship and promised the countries of Africa a "worthy place" in the "new world order".

The Russia -Africa summit is held for the second time, the first was held in 2019 in Sochi. Then not one of the countries abandoned the invitation , and 45 sent delegations led by the presidents and prime ministers, this year there are only 27 of them.

Four years ago, at the first summit in Sochi, the Russian President promised the countries of Africa a double increase in trade, to $ 40 billion. However, in fact, trade volumes did not increase, but decreased - to $ 18 billion. Putin cited this figure in his recently published article. At the same time, Russia accounts for only one percent of foreign investment coming to Africa - even the island of Mauritius invests more, writes Fortune.

As a summit will affect the inhabitants of St. Petersburg

Due to the summit, the authorities will block the only departure from the village of Shushara during the peak hours - from 07:30 to 10:00 and from 16:00 to 20:00. Residents are offered to use public transport - two buses and electric trains.

The governor of St. Petersburg Alexander Beglov recommended that the heads of enterprises and organizations transfer employees to distance work during the summit days in order to "reduce the transport load."

A situational center will also work, which, using special services, will help the residents of Shushar get out of the village.

Rotonda, citing sources, writes that safety measures during the summit were strengthened after the rebellion of Evgeny Prigozhin. There was no such precaution "even during the St. Petersburg Economic Forum."