The China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA) on Thursday officially launched its office in Ethiopia.

The Black Sea resort city of Sochi is set to host the inaugural Russia-Africa summit scheduled for October 23-24.

Africa’s more than 50 leaders have been invited to take part in the forum which will be co-chaired by President Vladimir Putin and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

El-Sisi was selected in his capacity as the current chair of the African Union.

Ahead of the summit, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday chaired a session of the ministry’s board focusing on preparations for the summit, which will also include an economic forum on its sidelines.

“It was emphasized that hosting the first summit of this kind shows that Russian-African relations have reached a qualitatively new level,” the ministry said.

“The board emphasized that Russia’s cooperation with the African states is based on strong historical traditions of friendship and solidarity in fight of the continent’s peoples for freedom and independence.” the ministry added.

Among the agenda of the summit include development of interaction among entrepreneurs of Russia and African nations, cooperation in digital development, nuclear technologies, humanitarian and social spheres.

A message from the Russian Embassy in the UK said: “Russia will continue to contribute to ensuring peace, stability and sustainable development in #Africa, both bilaterally and through international organisations.”

Source: TASS Russian News Agency