In the Congress Hall of Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University, the Russia–Africa Raw Materials Dialogue “The Path of Development: Mineral Resources and Personnel as the Foundation of Economic Sovereignty” has begun its work. Its mission is expressed by the key thesis of the anti-colonial declaration adopted 65 years ago by the UN General Assembly at the initiative of our country: “peoples may, for their own ends, freely dispose of their natural wealth and resources.”
More than 500 representatives from 40 African countries—politicians, scholars, public figures, and industrialists—have gathered in St. Petersburg. The idea of the forum was proposed by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin during the second Russia–Africa summit in July 2023. In December of the same year, the university hosted the International Congress “Africa Seeks Solutions,” at which the consortium of universities “Nedra Africa” was established.
In recent years, the pace of the continent’s development has clearly intensified. Of the 20 fastest-growing economies on the planet, 12 are located here. However, macroeconomic indicators do not always reflect real changes in people’s living conditions. Unequal trade exchange persists. In the coffee market, for instance, the main supplier of raw materials—Africa—receives less than 10% of the profit. In the extraction of minerals, the share is even smaller—up to 3%, according to the World Bank.
«The leitmotif of the meeting is the concepts of national sovereignty and mutual respect. The Russian initiatives of recent years, beginning with the 2019 ‘Russia–Africa’ summit, have laid the foundation for cooperation that will make it possible to solve the pressing problems of the countries of the African continent. During the panel discussions and round tables of our forum, many statistical data will be presented about the mismatch between resource potential and the standard of living in African countries. I will cite one fact, or rather share a deep impression of African gold mining: by artisanal methods, using a shovel in shallow pits, ingots are extracted and sold for a pittance.
The problems are clear, and it is not enough simply to discuss them. Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University, the Competence Center in Mining Engineering Education under the auspices of UNESCO, organized the forum with a focus on real steps. We have gathered at this venue to draw up a ‘roadmap’ of joint actions in the development of the mineral resources sector. In many countries of the continent, there is no question of high-quality exploration of mineral resources; there is not even a full understanding of what resources the country possesses», – addressed the participants First Vice-Rector of Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University, Professor Marat Rudakov.
He identified three areas in which the experience of Russia’s oldest technical university will be particularly useful to Africa: analysis of natural resource potential, scientific research on its utilization, and training personnel for the high-tech raw-materials economy of the future.
«For the third year now, Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University has been training fully fledged engineers within the framework of the presidential pilot project, instead of the Bologna ‘bachelor–master’ system. Our educational model fully meets the interests of African countries in training specialists who will work in national companies rather than foreign ones», – said Marat Rudakov.
Today, according to UNESCO, in the top 200 universities of the world up to 8% of the total number of international students are Africans, and only half of them (by optimistic estimates) subsequently return to their homeland. The share of engineers—and even more so of miners—in this cohort is minimal. Africa is the undisputed leader in the shortage of qualified engineers.
A notable group of representatives of African countries at the forum were present in the signature blazers of Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University. These are not only students, but also attendees of the educational program for senior personnel of resource companies and government bodies, “Management of Subsoil Use Assets”—precisely those people who will effectively convey the knowledge and experience gained in Russia to their countries and will be able to apply them in the interests of society.
The high effectiveness of the course was noted in the welcoming remarks of the Head of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, Valery Falkov. In the minister’s view, it attests to the demand for Russian expertise in subsoil development and management in this field.
The flagship role of Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University in developing educational cooperation with Africa is also evidenced by words of support expressed at the forum’s opening ceremony by Senator Dmitry Vasilenko on behalf of the Chairwoman of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation, Valentina Matvienko.
Greetings were also conveyed by First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Denis Manturov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov, and Governor of St. Petersburg Alexander Beglov.
What makes Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University valuable to the academic community, industrialists, and government authorities of African countries? The history of cooperation favors its continuation. In the 1960s–1980s the university trained, on a state-funded basis, students from Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Zambia, Tanzania, Angola, Mozambique, and other countries. Several hundred first-class mining engineers were trained. The university’s professors and researchers regularly traveled to the continent for consulting and research work. Today the scientific achievements of those years are being developed and multiplied. Africa can judge the quality of science and education at Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University by its 4th place in the most prestigious global university ranking, QS, in the subject area “Engineering – Mineral & Mining".
The opening session of the Raw Materials Dialogue was inaugurated by Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation Roman Marshavin. According to him, when implementing joint projects in Africa, Russian companies constantly face the problem of a shortage of engineers in partner countries.
«Western companies did not concern themselves with long-term personnel training. Projects were prepared with the involvement of their own specialists, and upon completion of the projects they took both knowledge and technologies with them. We proceed from a fundamentally different approach—we try to find and train employees locally. Our projects in mineral extraction and nuclear generation do not leave African schools and universities on the sidelines. Today intergovernmental commissions are being actively created, primarily in the countries of the Sahel region [a tropical savanna region bordering the Sahara to the south], and we hear from our African colleagues that they see personnel training for joint projects with Russia as precisely the main task», – said Roman Marshavin.
His colleague, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation Dmitry Tetenkin, supported this view. He noted that, according to experts, more than a third of the world’s resources fall to Africa, but they are often not utilized.
«We are ready to share knowledge to develop Africa’s potential, which in many respects is similar to Russia’s. In particular, we continue working on the formation of the regulatory and legal framework and mechanisms of cooperation», – said Dmitry Tetenkin.
The President of the Association of African Universities, Prof. Dr. Matengu Kenneth Kamwi, stated that the lack of genuine sovereignty is felt not only in the economy but also in science: no sanctions have been declared against Africa, as against Russia, yet for some reason “African scholars are seven times less likely to publish the results of their research in English-language academic journals.”
«I hope that together with our Russian colleagues we will be able to create a joint knowledge ecosystem in which we will effectively complement each other. Competition is indispensable here, but it should be mutually complementary. This is what we expect from partnership with Russia for the benefit of the whole world», – the speaker said.
The Vice President, Chair of the Women Engineers Committee of the World Federation of Engineering Organizations, Kpekpene Enyonam, offered assurances that the goals of the women’s movement in Africa align with the efforts of the “Nedra Africa” consortium to step up personnel training in the technical sphere. According to her, only 20–30% of the world’s engineering corps are women, and Africa has the potential to make a significant contribution to overcoming this imbalance.
The President of the Association of Mining Industrialists of Russia, Valery Yazev, devoted his remarks to an analysis of trends in global energy. He noted, in particular, that significant uranium reserves in Africa amid a colossal shortage of electricity create the prerequisites for the development of the “peaceful atom.” He spoke about the Russian Federation’s technological priority in this area: no one else in the world has industrial fast-neutron reactors capable of burning radioactive waste and producing plutonium from uranium-238.
The head of the “Nedra Africa” consortium, Paul Omajoh, presented the forum participants with a problem: Africa’s wealth lies under the feet of the continent’s peoples; without quality education they will not reap the benefits of its use, yet funds are needed to develop quality education.
Paul Omajoh noted that projects such as Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University’s educational program “Management of Subsoil Use Assets” break the vicious circle. In this case, the Russian side not only opens access to knowledge but also provides relevant grants.
Member of the Public Council of the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation Kirill Molodtsov stated that Russia, in its energy strategy up to 2050, has clearly formulated its goals and the paths to achieve them. In 10 years, our dependence in the group of critical technologies in the field of extraction, processing, and transportation of mineral resources has decreased eightfold. A similar action plan is needed for the countries of Africa as well. The main thing is not to follow the lead of Western companies that impose knowingly disadvantageous projects, such as liquefied natural gas from the United States. They offer Africa long-term, 25–30-year projects for the extraction of mineral resources with a seemingly acceptable cash flow. However, in conditions where all the most technologically complex and high-margin contracts go to Western contractors, practically nothing remains of the “tasty pie” for Africans.
The discussion of pressing cooperation issues will continue on October 31 at the panel discussion “Engineers of the Future. Trends and Opportunities for Russia and Africa” and at numerous round tables.