Africa, International, NEWS, Politics

Cairo: Lavrov promotes AU-CSTO co-operation

Posted by Europe correspondent on

Brussels 21.12.2025 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made a number of statements on developing cooperation with African states at the II Russia-Africa Forum Conference, held in Cairo on December 19-20.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

During the plenary session, Lavrov said that Russia attaches great importance to strengthening peace and security on the African continent, considering this a key condition for sustainable socio-economic development.
The diplomat underlined that Moscow, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, “contributes to conflict resolution” and fully supports the principle of “African solutions to African problems.” He ensured that Russia would continue to assist its African partners in strengthening their defense capabilities, combating terrorism, demining, and training security personnel.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

At a joint press conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Ahmed Abdelathi following the forum, Lavrov expressed gratitude to his African partners for hosting the conference and noted that the discussions were practical in nature. According to him, the parties agreed to strengthen trade, economic, and investment cooperation, including developing mutual trade and joint projects in energy, high technology, humanitarian, and educational spheres. These agreements were recorded in a joint statement of the forum.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Lavrov added that special attention was paid to the creation of sustainable financial, logistical, and interbank chains that will protect cooperation from unilateral sanctions. Russia and African countries are interested in developing independent payment mechanisms and strengthening the economic sovereignty of their partners. This mechanism will be developed to counter unilateral sanctions, which the parties, Lavrov stated, do not approve of.

Lavrov also reported that the joint statement following the conference reflects the progress of the discussions on key international and regional issues. The parties agreed to engage in dialogue on a swift resolution of the Palestinian conflict.

Furthermore, a decision was made to establish diplomatic relations between the African Union (AU) and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), which is intergovernmental military alliance in Eurasia consisting of six post-Soviet states: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan.

The document emphasizes reforming the global governance system, particularly the UN, to ensure it reflects the real balance of power in the modern world. Lavrov said that current approaches and mechanisms are in many respects inconsistent with the current international reality and that the representation of African countries in global decision-making must be increased.

The parties also expressed their commitment to advancing UN Security Council reform aimed at strengthening the role and voice of African states.

Furthermore, Lavrov emphasized the need to establish the economic independence of African countries and protect their rights to independent economic development, choice of partners, and areas of development. This would help strengthen the strong support expressed at the UN General Assembly, which established December 14 as International Day for the Fight Against Colonialism. Russia and African states categorically oppose new forms of colonial domination.

Lavrov said that more than 20 bilateral meetings were held on the sidelines of the conference, which in several cases resulted in the signing of agreements and memoranda in various fields. Overall, he emphasized, the forum had created a solid foundation for preparing for the third Russia-Africa Summit, scheduled for 2026. Moscow, he said, is proposing to begin developing a new three-year cooperation plan now and is ready to actively participate in this work.

Leave a comment