At the first ministerial conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum, Africans focused on the development of education, and this is the key to the continent's success, Irina Abramova, director of the Institute of Africa of the Russian Academy of Sciences, who moderated the closing ceremony of this event in Sochi, told Sputnik.
"I think that Africans are emphasizing the development of a humanitarian agenda, primarily on workforce training and education. Today, the minister of foreign affairs of Mauritania mentioned several times that Africa is a young continent, with 62% of the population under 25 years old. And it is precisely in the training of skilled personnel that lies the key to the success of Africa's development," she said on the sidelines of the conference.
In addition, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov outlined at the conference's closing ceremony the main areas of cooperation between Russia and Africa and remarked that colonial practices, through which the global minority maintains its dominance via various global institutions, still persist.
"Our task is to work together with Africans to fight against this new colonialism which, in my opinion, is spreading essentially around the entire world. It affects Russia, Africa, and even many Western countries since recently," Abramova added.
The first Russia-Africa ministerial conference was held on November 9 and 10 in Sochi, Russia. Anton Kobyakov, who is an Advisor to the Russian President and the Executive Secretary of the forum's Organizing Committee, announced that the event was attended by delegations from 54 countries and 45 African ministers.