The first inaugural Russia-Africa summit is taking place in Sochi on 23-24 October 2019. Over 50 African leaders and 3,000 delegates from African and Russia are at the summit. Topics of discussion will range from nuclear energy to the extraction of natural resources. The Russian president will be holding a series of talks with at least a dozen African leaders. Bilateral talks are expected to extend beyond the summit itself. The Kremlin says $12.5bn worth of deals were struck during the first ever Russian-Africa Summit, however the majority were memorandums of understanding that may not result in any investment.  Putin underlines the importance of Africa’s economy on the global stage. Russian President promised to double trade within the next “four to five years”, offering numerous deals to delegations on everything from diamond mining to pork exports. 

In the TASS press release Mr Punin was asked about competition in Africa and about rivalization with US and Western Europe answered "Indeed, interest in developing the relations with African countries is currently visible not only on the part of Western Europe, the US and the PRC, but also on the part of India, Turkey, the Gulf states, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Israel, and Brazil. This is not accidental, as Africa increasingly becomes a continent of opportunities. It possesses vast resources and potential economic attractiveness."