The third Russia-Africa Summit opens in Moscow on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, with 48 African countries confirmed to take part, the Kremlin said, a day after the city hosted the eighth summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF).
Russian President Vladimir Putin will co-chair the two-day summit, on October 28-29, with Burundi President Évariste Ndayishimiye, the current chairperson of the African Union, according to Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov, who said 22 of the participating countries will be represented by their heads of state.
Illustration: the third Russia-Africa Summit runs in Moscow on October 28-29, 2026, co-chaired by Vladimir Putin and Évariste Ndayishimiye.
What Happened
The summit, held at the Grand Kremlin Palace, brings together delegations from 48 of Africa's 54 countries, Ushakov told reporters on October 26, 2026, according to multiple reports of the briefing. The remaining participants will send prime ministers, ministers or other senior officials. The turnout of 22 heads of state is higher than at the previous summit in St. Petersburg in 2023, when 17 leaders attended.
Putin's schedule for the week is, by Ushakov's own description, extremely packed: 24 bilateral meetings across the two gatherings, including talks with the leaders of Iran, Qatar, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mali and Libya, according to reports of the briefing. Five meetings were scheduled for Tuesday, October 27, alongside the gas forum, with the presidents of Mozambique, Equatorial Guinea and Iran, Qatar's emir and Libya's Presidential Council chairman, and a further set planned around the summit itself.
The summit is expected to adopt a cooperation action plan for 2027-2029 and two declarations — one setting out joint positions and another covering cooperation in artificial intelligence — alongside 33 intergovernmental, interagency and commercial documents, according to reports of the Kremlin briefing. A Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum runs alongside the summit, with around 4,000 Russian and African entrepreneurs invited.
Background
The Moscow gathering follows two earlier summits. The first Russia-Africa Summit was held in Sochi in 2019 and attended by 43 African heads of state or government. The second, in St. Petersburg in 2023, drew delegations from 48 African countries, including 17 heads of state, alongside a forum of some 9,000 participants. The meetings have served as platforms for political dialogue and for frameworks of cooperation between Russia and African states.
The gas forum that opened the week has its own history. The GECF brings together 12 member countries — Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela — which collectively hold around 70 percent of the world's proven natural gas reserves, account for 38 percent of global marketed gas production and represent 42 percent of international gas exports, according to the forum. The October 27 summit in Moscow was the forum's first summit in the Russian capital since 2013 and marked 25 years of cooperation among its members, with a Moscow Declaration expected to set out shared priorities on energy security, reliable supplies and diversified trade routes.
The timing places energy at the centre of both meetings: the gas producers' talks on market stability and supply on Tuesday, followed by the broader Russia-Africa agenda on Wednesday and Thursday.
Illustration: the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, whose members hold about 70 percent of proven gas reserves, met in Moscow on October 27, 2026.
Why It Matters
For Moscow, the summit is an opportunity to translate political ties with Africa into concrete economic partnerships. Russian officials have framed the agenda around trade, investment, energy, infrastructure, agriculture, food security, science, technology, education and humanitarian cooperation, with emphasis, in Ushakov's words as reported, on "national sovereignty and fair access to food, resources, fertilizers, and modern technologies." Alternative payment mechanisms and industrial cooperation are also expected to feature, as Moscow seeks commercial partnerships beyond political consultation.
For African governments, the summit offers a platform to negotiate on their own terms — access to fertiliser, energy, technology and markets — at a moment when the continent's role in global affairs is growing and when many states are seeking to diversify their partnerships rather than rely on any single bloc. The presence of 48 delegations, and the larger number of heads of state than in 2023, signals that, whatever the criticisms of the format, African capitals still see value in the room.
For the wider world, the week is a reminder of how energy and diplomacy intertwine. The countries meeting in Moscow control a large share of the world's gas reserves and exports, and the declarations and deals emerging from the two summits — on gas supply, on AI cooperation, on trade corridors — will be read closely in European capitals, in Gulf states and in African markets alike, as indicators of where the global energy map is heading.
What Happens Next
The summit's two plenary sessions on October 29 will form its centrepiece, according to reports of the schedule, with the action plan, declarations and package of 33 documents expected to be adopted and signed there. Bilateral meetings through the week will test whether the headline numbers translate into specific agreements on trade, energy, agriculture and technology.
Observers will watch three things in particular: whether the gas forum's Moscow Declaration points to coordinated action on supply or pricing, or remains a statement of shared principles; whether the Russia-Africa action plan for 2027-2029 contains measurable commitments rather than general pledges; and whether the economic forum produces commercial deals that outlast the summit's photo opportunities.
Whatever emerges, the format itself is now established as a regular fixture: a third summit, larger in head-of-state attendance than the second, with a work programme stretching to 2029. The next test will be whether the agreements signed in Moscow this week are still being implemented when the fourth summit comes around.
Illustration: trade, investment, energy, agriculture and food security are on the summit agenda, alongside an economic and humanitarian forum.
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FAQ
When and where is the Russia-Africa Summit being held?
The third Russia-Africa Summit runs in Moscow on October 28-29, 2026, at the Grand Kremlin Palace, according to reports of the Kremlin briefing.
How many countries are taking part?
48 of Africa's 54 countries have confirmed participation, with 22 represented by their heads of state, according to Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov — up from 17 heads of state at the 2023 summit.
Who is co-chairing the summit?
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Burundi President Évariste Ndayishimiye, the current chairperson of the African Union.
What is expected to be agreed?
A cooperation action plan for 2027-2029, two declarations (on joint positions and on AI cooperation), and 33 intergovernmental, interagency and commercial documents are expected, according to reports of the briefing.
What was the Gas Exporting Countries Forum summit about?
The GECF's eighth summit, held in Moscow on October 27, 2026, brought together major gas producers — holding about 70 percent of proven reserves — to discuss market stability, energy security and cooperation, with a Moscow Declaration expected.
Sources
- Fana Media Corporation, "Russia–Africa Summit to Set New Cooperation Priorities as 48 African Countries Confirm Participation," October 27, 2026 (48 countries; 22 heads of state; co-chairs Putin and Ndayishimiye; agenda; first summit Sochi 2019; second St. Petersburg 2023).
- Africanews via Breaking African News, "Moscow prepares to host African leaders for Russia-Africa Summit," October 27, 2026 (48 countries confirmed; Ushakov briefing; GECF summit on October 27).
- Reuters via Daily8, "Putin to host 22 African leaders in Moscow," October 2026 (24 bilateral meetings; 33 documents; action plan 2027-2029; two declarations including AI; ~4,000 entrepreneurs at the economic forum; 2019 and 2023 attendance figures).
- AnewZ, "Putin outlines priorities for gas industry at GECF summit," October 27, 2026 (GECF members' ~70 percent of proven reserves; first Moscow summit since 2013; 25 years of cooperation; Moscow Declaration).
- GECF member list and reserve/production/export shares via GECF reporting in Meridian Zero / AnewZ, October 27, 2026 (12 members; 38 percent of marketed production; 42 percent of exports).
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