On June 17, 2025, the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) held an expert seminar, “Africa’s Energy Market: Development Trends and Challenges.” It was organized in partnership with the Center for Transition Economy Studies at the Institute for African Studies (IAS) of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS).
The discussion centered on pressing issues in energy development that are of practical interest to Russia and African nations. The experts primarily focused on the strategies of major players in the global and African energy markets. Special attention was given to main energy development models linked to the global economic shift, which is widely discussed in the EU, and models of energy conservatism that have been put into practice in several African countries.
On June 17, 2025, the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) held an expert seminar, “Africa’s Energy Market: Development Trends and Challenges.” It was organized in partnership with the Center for Transition Economy Studies at the Institute for African Studies (IAS) of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS).
The discussion centered on pressing issues in energy development that are of practical interest to Russia and African nations. The experts primarily focused on the strategies of major players in the global and African energy markets. Special attention was given to main energy development models linked to the global economic shift, which is widely discussed in the EU, and models of energy conservatism that have been put into practice in several African countries.
The experts differed in their views on the priorities for energy development in African nations in the short and long term. At the same time, there was a general consensus that, given limited resources, population growth and energy poverty in most African countries, hydrocarbon consumption is likely to increase in the near future, and green policies are off the table now.
Special attention at the seminar was given to the feasibility of energy projects in Africa and Russia’s role in them. The experts cited the successful cooperation in nuclear power between Russia and North African nations. However, they also noted that the cost of building nuclear power plants is disproportionate to the eventual electricity price per kilowatt-hour for consumers. At the same time, Russia can offer African countries a number of practical solutions related to designing energy strategies and calculations, training personnel for the energy sector, expanding the domestic use of LNG, and more. New opportunities for energy cooperation between Russia and African nations have emerged following the launch of intergovernmental commissions on trade, economic and scientific-technical cooperation, which are engaging with 18 African countries.
The seminar brought together experts from academic institutes, universities, the Russian Energy Ministry, non-governmental organizations and international organizations: Evgenia Morozenskaya, Head of the Center for Transition Economy Studies at IAS RAS and Member of the RAS Scientific Council for the Problems of Africa; Denis Degterev, Chief Research Fellow at IAS RAS and Professor of MGIMO University; Konstantin Simonov, Head of the Department of Political Science at the Financial University and Director General of the National Energy Security Fund; Ekaterina Komleva, Lead Manager of the Sustainable Development Department at PJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel; Anna Sharova, Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Global and Strategic Studies at IAS RAS; Evgeny Biryukov, Senior Research Fellow at the RAS Institute of Economic Forecasting; Mayya Nikolskaya, Acting Director of the Center for African Studies at the Institute for International Studies, MGIMO University; Anastasia Zabella, Lecturer at the Department of Theory and History of International Relations, RUDN University; Vsevolod Sviridov, Deputy Director of the Center for African Studies at HSE University; Lyudmila Kalinichenko, Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Transition Economy Studies at IAS RAS; Alexander Biryukov, Vice President in charge of cooperation with African countries at the International Organization for Eurasian Cooperation; Andrey Fedorov, Leading Research Fellow at the Center for Tropical African Studies at IAS RAS; Irina Ananich, Deputy Head of the International Cooperation Department at the Russian Energy Agency (REA) of the Russian Energy Ministry; Alexander Novikov, Junior Research Fellow at the Center for Transition Economy Studies at IAS RAS; Dimitri Sytyi, Director General of the Russian House in Bangui (Central African Republic); Ruslan Mamedov, Research Director of the Primakov Center for International Cooperation and Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies of the RAS Institute of Oriental Studies; Andrey Gromov, Executive Secretary of the Board of the African–Russian Energy Association (AREA); and Yulia Berg, Director of the International Business Acceleration Center, among others.
