The discussion will be attended by Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation Dmitry Kobylkin, Minister of Mineral Resources and Petroleum of the Republic of Angola H.E. Diamantino Pedro Azevedo, and Minister of Energy and Mining of the Republic of the Sudan H.E. Adil Ali Ibrahim. The session will be moderated by Rosgeo General Director and Chairman of the Management Sergey Gorkov.

Africa is exceptionally rich in mineral reserves. For example, it boasts the largest ore reserves of manganese, chromite, bauxite, gold, platinum, cobalt, diamond, and phosphorite and also has substantial oil, natural gas, graphite, and asbestos reserves. However, the continent’s subsoil resources have not been studied comprehensively, and countries need serious theoretical and practical knowledge in this area in order to utilize the natural resources. There is enormous potential here for cooperation between African countries and Russia. After all, Russian companies have unique experience in exploration and can provide invaluable assistance to their partners.

“Soviet and Russian specialists have been conducting systematic geological studies of African countries for a long time. In particular, our subsidiary Zarubezhgeologiya has carried out a wide range of work in Africa – from regional geological and geophysical surveys to the detailed exploration of deposits with a calculation of their reserves. We have discovered over 100 deposits of solid minerals and hydrocarbons in 25 African countries”, Gorkov said. “Having said that, we haven’t come close to fully discovering the resource potential of African countries. The geological exploration of the continent has only been conducted at 10 to 60% of the optimal level. Given the development of modern exploration tools, continuing the comprehensive study of the subsoil resources of African countries may lead to the discovery of new sites that are unique by world standards, both on land and on the continental shelf”.

The Russia–Africa Summit and Economic Forum will take place on 23–24 October in Sochi at the Sirius Park of Science and Art. The events are being organized by the Roscongress Foundation, and the co-organizers of the Russia–Africa Economic Forum are Russian Export Center and Afreximbank.