The idea for this forum was born during the II Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum.
On Tuesday, 12 December, the Empress Catherine II St. Petersburg Mining University hosted the opening ceremony of the International Congress "Africa Seeks Solutions". More than 100 heads of leading universities, representatives of executive and legislative authorities, as well as big business from more than 40 countries of the continent are taking part in the Congress.
The main event of the forum will be the signing of the agreement on the creation of the Russian-African Consortium of Higher Technical Education Institutions. The new structure will be tasked with developing and coordinating co-operation between the parties in the field of education and science, as well as promoting sustainable development of the extractive and processing sectors.
The motivation of the guests of the city on the Neva is obvious: the subsoil of the continent where they live is rich in raw materials. Their potential is so great that, if it were fully exploited, the citizens of many African countries would be 10 times richer than Europeans. In reality, however, everything is "exactly the opposite". Today, about half a billion people living south of the Sahara live a poverty-stricken existence, some 600 million have no access to electricity.
"In recent years, Western countries have made every effort to emphasise the attention of the world community not on real, but on ephemeral problems, the solution of which increases the economic sustainability of only a small group of beneficiary powers. Classical liberal values that declare the priority of human rights and freedoms have become an empty sound, a smokescreen that hides the true goals of neoliberal colonialism. They consist in plundering the natural capital of developing countries, first of all, Africa, gaining unlimited access to its raw material resources," emphasised Vladimir Litvinenko.
Indeed, more than 100 Western companies listed on the London Stock Exchange operate in sub-Saharan Africa. Most of them are British. With few exceptions, they operate on the basis of concession agreements. In essence, this is a lease that allows foreigners to receive the main rent from the exploitation of subsoil resources, sometimes up to 90-95% of its total volume, without any responsibility for excessive damage to the environment and unwillingness to employ the local population.
"Russia, like African countries, also possesses natural capital that requires modern technologies, engineers capable of exploiting them, and scientists to improve their efficiency in order to monetise it. We have a lot to strive for: to increase energy efficiency, to involve more raw materials in deep processing, to create domestic value chains producing end-use products. But all this should be based on sovereignty, which is impossible without control over our own mineral deposits," said Vladimir Litvinenko.
He reminded that 30 years ago, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia faced problems very similar to the current situation in Africa. Concession agreements with European and American companies deprived our federal budget of a significant part of its revenues, which was one of the reasons for an unprecedented drop in living standards. The situation changed only after the election of President Vladimir Putin, who changed the "terms of the game" and created the preconditions for a sharp economic breakthrough.
"The Russian-African Consortium of Higher Education Institutions aims not only to partner in education, but also to work together on a more equitable distribution of subsoil use rents in each particular state. We have agreed to set up local regional laboratories and provide them with specialists capable, for example, of determining the potential of a particular field. After all, Western companies often deliberately underestimate its potential in order to conclude a concession on more favourable terms," said Vladimir Litvinenko.
Rector of the Admiralty University of Nigeria, co-chairman of the Russian-African Consortium of Higher Education Institutions Paul Omojo Omaji certainly agrees that the current distribution of income from the exploitation of mineral deposits in Africa is not fair. And it is almost unrealistic to change this state of affairs without achieving technological and human resource independence.
He clarified that, on the one hand, no one on the mainland is against the use of the resources lying in its subsoil for the benefit of all mankind. But, on the other hand, the so-called "savannah formation", imposed by the West and aimed at artificially restraining the continent's development, makes this process absolutely meaningless for the overwhelming majority of the local population.
"The paradox is that we are walking on untold riches, yet we are literally mired in poverty. One of the main reasons: the specifics of education, which urgently need to be changed because they do not correspond to the real tasks. Higher education institutions must turn into engines of economic development that will train a cadre of engineers and civil servants who will be able to transform our mineral and raw materials complex in an evolutionary way and rid our peoples of the dominance of neoliberalism. In my opinion, we will benefit greatly from the experience of Mining University, which is currently participating in a pilot project to improve the training system in Russia," said Omaji Paul Omojo, justifying his desire to collaborate with our country's first technical university.
The consortium project has been supported by many prominent politicians, scientists and businessmen from both sides. Thus, the Chairman of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation Valentina Matvienko sent a welcome letter to the participants. She noted that "building long-term and multilateral relations with African countries is one of the key vectors of Russia's foreign policy". She called the Congress the most important socio-political event capable of making "a significant contribution to their strengthening".
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov emphasised that "St. Petersburg Mining University has offered a new level of scientific and educational cooperation with Africa". And stated that "Russia is ready to share knowledge and experience with African friends, fully supports their aspiration to strengthen economic sovereignty, including in the field of nature management".
Alexander Beglov, Governor of St Petersburg, took part in the opening ceremony of the Congress. He assured those present that he had no doubts at all that the consortium would achieve all its goals. After all, there is an atmosphere of trust on the margins of the forum, which has deep historical roots.
"The Soviet Union supported African countries in their struggle for independence, built power plants there, and trained personnel. Today we are reviving these traditions. And I am very pleased that this process was initiated by Mining University, one of the best universities not only in Russia, but also in the world," the Governor emphasised.
The first day of the forum was also attended by Vsevolod Tkachenko, Director of the Africa Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Konstantin Mogilevsky, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education, Mikhail Shvydkoy, Special Representative of the Russian President for International Cultural Cooperation, Alexander Yakovenko, Rector of the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and a number of other politicians and top managers of flagship domestic companies.
The guests of the city on the Neva River were the Minister of Higher Education, Technology and Innovation of Namibia KandjiiMurangi Ita, Secretary General of the Ministry of Natural Resources of Lesotho Relebohil Lebeta, Executive Director of Universal Mining & Chemical from Zambia Julius Kaomi. In total, representatives of 130 organisations from 42 countries - universities, research institutes, mining and metallurgical companies, geological committees, agencies and ministries.
