Any illusions the Anglo-Americans may have been nurturing that they could sway African countries firmly into the unilateralist camp with a “Leaders Summit” and aggressive diplomacy have been dashed, as leaders of 40 African nations showed up in Moscow for the Russia-Africa Parliamentary Conference, March 19-20. Worse for Washington and London, attendance was even higher than in 2019 at the (pre-"Ukraine invasion") Russia-Africa Summit, where 36 countries defied the unilateral order. The conference of lawmakers was designed to lay the groundwork for the July 28-29 Russia-Africa Summit in St. Petersburg.
With the conference theme being “Russia-Africa in a Multipolar World,” the contrast between the dying unilateral order and the emerging multipolar world was in sharp focus. In his keynote address on March 19, Chairman of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin said, “Washington and Brussels seek to take control of Russian and African natural resources. In fact, they continue their colonial policy. They go to any measures, including force and terrorist nature, for their own benefit.” According to TASS, the summit brought together “representatives of the scientific, educational and expert communities from Russia and African countries,” along with representatives from Russian federal and regional political and business communities. From the widespread media coverage, extended discussions included cooperation in nuclear power development, medical and educational areas.
