Response of the Russian Ambassador to South Africa and Lesotho R.E. Ambrov for the African Initiative News Agency (October 26, 2026): This week Moscow will host one of the most important international events of the year - the third Russia-Africa summit. The forum is intended to give further impetus to our comprehensive and significant cooperation with African partners, as well as to emphasize the importance of the African continent in world politics in the 21st century. Despite the fact that South African President S. Ramaphosa will not be able to take part in this year's summit due to the upcoming municipal elections in the country, we note the very high interest of the South African media in the upcoming event. Among the qualified journalists are representatives from a variety of fields, specializing in a wide range of topics: from politics and international economics to digitalization and high technology. It is gratifying that a significant part of the media community consists of young journalists, bloggers and influencers who closely follow the development of Russia-Africa relations and seek to better understand the agenda of the summit. This suggests that the interest in Russia's dialogue with the countries of the African continent goes beyond the traditional political and business press and resonates with a wider audience. For the first time, media representatives from the Kingdom of Lesotho will participate in an event of this magnitude. I sincerely welcome this step. I am sure that their presence will open new opportunities for the development of relations between Russian and Lesotho journalists and will become a starting point for our closer cooperation in the field of information. Russia attaches particular importance to the development of a direct dialogue with the media community of South Africa and Lesotho.

Response of the Russian Ambassador to South Africa and Lesotho R.E. Ambrov for the African Initiative News Agency (October 26, 2026): This week Moscow will host one of the most important international events of the year - the third Russia-Africa summit. The forum is intended to give further impetus to our comprehensive and significant cooperation with African partners, as well as to emphasize the importance of the African continent in world politics in the 21st century. Despite the fact that South African President S. Ramaphosa will not be able to take part in this year's summit due to the upcoming municipal elections in the country, we note the very high interest of the South African media in the upcoming event. Among the qualified journalists are representatives from a variety of fields, specializing in a wide range of topics: from politics and international economics to digitalization and high technology. It is gratifying that a significant part of the media community consists of young journalists, bloggers and influencers who closely follow the development of Russia-Africa relations and seek to better understand the agenda of the summit. This suggests that the interest in Russia's dialogue with the countries of the African continent goes beyond the traditional political and business press and resonates with a wider audience. For the first time, media representatives from the Kingdom of Lesotho will participate in an event of this magnitude. I sincerely welcome this step. I am sure that their presence will open new opportunities for the development of relations between Russian and Lesotho journalists and will become a starting point for our closer cooperation in the field of information. Russia attaches particular importance to the development of a direct dialogue with the media community of South Africa and Lesotho.