On Nov. 20-21 the Russian Foreign Ministry and the Russian Agriculture Ministry sponsored the International Conference on Ensuring Food Sovereignty for African Countries held in Addis Ababa and hosted by the Ethiopian government. The conference was attended by more than 250 delegates from 16 African nations, and emphasized, as Capital newspaper reported the “strategic shift from dependency on foreign aid and food security to full food sovereignty—empowering African countries to control their own food production, processing and distribution using domestic resources, innovation and commitment.”
Judging from media reports and remarks of attendees, the conference reflected optimism about Ethiopia’s and all of Africa’s potential to overcome significant agricultural and political/economic challenges. Ethiopia has made significant progress toward becoming a net food exporter, although it still faces some obstacles in finally achieving that goal.
Another of the conference’s sponsors was the Russian Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States, Compatriots Living Abroad, and the International Humanitarian Cooperation (Rossotrudnichestvo), led by Yevgeniy Primakov, son of the late politician and diplomat Yevgeny Primakov, who served as Prime Minister, Foreign Affairs Minister and director of Foreign Intelligence in the 1990s, during his long and distinguished career. In opening the conference, Primakov released a call to end traditional aid paradigms. “We are here to discuss how Africa can grow on its own, develop and become truly sovereign,” he said. “It’s not about the humanitarian aid that the world sends or who will lead Africa. It’s about how it should manage its destiny.”
