On July 28, 2025, the III Russian-African Conference on the theme: “Realpolitik in a Divided World: Rethinking Ties between Russia and South Africa in the Global and African Context” was held in Pretoria (South Africa). It was organized by the Valdai Discussion Club in partnership with the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA). The conference was attended by more than 60 experts from Egypt, Zimbabwe, Côte d’Ivoire, Russia, Tanzania and South Africa, including employees of the Institute of African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Traditionally, the Valdai Club prepares a special Valdai report ahead of the conference. This time, its authors were D.A. Zelenova, PhD in Political Science, Head of the BRICS African Strategy Research Center at the Institute for African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Sanusha Naidoo, Research Fellow at the Nelson Mandela School of Government at the University of Cape Town and Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Global Dialogue, associated with the University of South Africa (UNISA).
The topic of the 2025 report is “Russia and South Africa: A Solid Foundation for Strategic Partnership”, the authors show how the historical legacy of the struggle for the liberation of Southern Africa forms favorable preconditions for the development of bilateral ties in the 21st century. In addition, on the eve of the conference, its participants present a whole “scattering” of expert comments, one of which – “BRICS Summit in Rio: African Vector of Cooperation of the Global South” – was also prepared by the staff of the BRICS African Strategy Study Center.
The first two sessions of the conference – “The Group of Twenty and BRICS: Assessing Strategic Roles in the Changing Global Order” and “Humanitarian Cooperation and the Role of Historical Memory in Russia’s Relations with South Africa and Other African Countries” – were held in an open format, with the participation of representatives of African and Russian media. Chief Researcher of the Institute of Africa of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Professor D.A. Degterev acted as a discussant in the second session, describing the current state of cooperation between Russia and Africa in the field of higher education. In his speech, he presented the thematic issue of the Scientific Notes of the Institute of Africa of the Russian Academy of Sciences (No. 2, 2025), dedicated to the analysis of successful examples of Russian African educational cooperation.
The two subsequent sessions of the conference – “Bilateral Relations of Russia and South Africa: Status and Prospects” and “Trump and the World Order” were held without the participation of the media. Head of the Center for the Study of the BRICS African Strategy of the Institute of African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences Daria A. Zelenova presented the current prospects and problematic aspects of bilateral cooperation between Russia and South Africa during the third session, and showed successful examples of interaction. The fourth session included a discussion of the increasing hegemonic tendencies in US foreign policy.
A number of fruitful meetings with leading researchers from South Africa, as well as Egypt, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe took place on the sidelines of the conference, which will give impetus to the cooperation of the Institute of African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences with scientific organizations on the continent.