Our conversation with PhD in History, Associate Professor at the Department of Marketing of the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, Director for International Development at the ANO “Directorate of the World Public Summit,” UNDP international development expert, and Director for International Development of the Russia–Africa Club at Moscow State University, Inga Koryagina, largely focused on Russia–Africa relations.
– Inga Anatolyevna, I know that just a few weeks ago you were appointed Director for International Development at the ANO “Directorate of the World Public Summit”…
– That’s right. My responsibilities include ensuring media coverage of the summit, which will take place in Moscow very soon—September 20–21. Publications on a wide range of topics—from children’s drawings, peacebuilding, and people’s diplomacy to business issues—are currently being released in media outlets around the world, but the widest coverage is planned for the African continent. We don’t just have journalists; we have friends who are very close to us in mentality, in spirit, and in values.
The World Public Summit is a platform that will bring together all countries, all continents, and allow people to sit face-to-face and literally see, hear, and find one another in this vast world.
For several weeks now, 10 to 20 materials have been published daily across all countries and continents. We have reached the Global South, BRICS, and SCO countries, Serbia is actively engaged with us, and indeed we have achieved the level of a World Public Summit, where every person, with their interests, ideas, and vision of our world, can find their place. And all of this is made possible thanks to a team of enthusiasts, in love with life, under the wise leadership of a talented leader: Chair of the General Council of the Assembly of the Peoples of the World, Doctor of Political Sciences, Svetlana Konstantinovna Smirnova.
“We invite active, ambitious journalists and foreign media to join in promoting the idea of universal peace.” For me, it is a great honor to be involved in the information support of such a monumental project.
– What will be the theme of the World Public Summit?
– As I mentioned, it will be held on September 20–21 in Moscow, and its motto will be “A New World of Conscious Unity.” The World Public Summit is a new international communication platform for searching and shaping meanings of a shared future, for strengthening the conscious unity of the peoples of the world. It will host substantive discussions on topics related to strengthening friendship and trust among peoples, affirming the humanitarian strategy of modern civilization, and building a new architecture of international communication.
This includes the 4th International Transport Summit, which took place this August in our capital; the “International Municipal BRICS Forum,” held last August in Moscow and scheduled for this October in St. Petersburg; and “Cloud Cities”—a forum on the future of BRICS cities, which will bring together many of our friends, including those from Zambia and South Africa.
– You are also the Director for International Development of the Russia–Africa Club at MSU. Clearly, the scope of work is enormous, the goals and objectives ambitious, yet how do you define the vectors of your activity?
– First of all, it is always a collegial decision, in cooperation with all members of the club. And necessarily in line with Russian and global agendas. We organize events in accordance with the needs of our state and engage all our friends around the world, of whom we have many, in this agenda. They all pick it up: conferences, forums, and summits—both online and offline. In short, I would say we form a large, close-knit, human, intellectual family, led by our leadership and the responsible secretary of the Russia–Africa Club at Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov, Candidate of Legal Sciences, Alexander Fedorovich Berdnikov.
– In one of your interviews, you said that today Russia’s relations with African countries are developing in the traditions of Soviet cooperation. In your opinion, how relevant is this to today’s realities and challenges?
– We deeply respect graduates of Soviet universities. And this reverent attitude serves as a kind of bridge to the past, making it easy for us to build relationships with the younger generation, because we stand on the foundation of respect, goodwill, and neighbourly relations from the older generation.
But in reality, we have moved far ahead. We work with young people, literally with 20-year-olds. They get energized and “infected” by Moscow and Russia, especially if they have been to our country at least once, for example at a youth festival, which, by the way, will soon be held in Nizhny Novgorod.
We host enough large-scale global events that bring huge numbers of very young, active, forward-looking Africans. And from the very first minute, they begin sending me messages: “Inga, we are in love with Moscow; we are in love with Russia. We have never experienced such respectful, warm treatment. We have never seen such technologically advanced cities as Moscow. We don’t just want to cooperate; we want to work; we want to make Africa as prosperous as Russia.” And that, of course, is inspiring.
– In the coming decades Africa will be one of the most promising areas for Russia in terms of economic, educational, and cultural cooperation. To what extent is Russia a priority partner for Africa in these spheres?
– Russia has modern technologies that Africa urgently needs. And Africa already understands this. They don’t just want to build factories, plants, and city-forming enterprises. They want to use specifically Russian technologies. Because, first, they have personally seen their high level, and second, these technologies are also user-friendly—very easy to maintain, and Russian specialists are always close at hand, ready to train and transfer this knowledge. Therefore, even in terms of technology, Russia is a priority for Africa.
– The third Russia–Africa Summit is just around the corner, set to take place next year in one of the African countries. In your opinion, with what results and achievements are we approaching it? And what could be the priority areas of the agenda for the upcoming summit?
– Over these three years we have managed to literally turn the African continent in our direction, or at least set ourselves on that track. We are actively making up for what was lost over 30 years. What seemed absolutely impossible just two and a half years ago—now we have gone far beyond that. Without a doubt, the media played a decisive role in this. Information always comes first—that’s an indisputable fact. And gradually we are overcoming the information vacuum that existed until recently, with our news, our achievements, and with what we are truly doing in Russia today.
For ordinary Africans, it is very important to receive truthful, daily, real-life information, not only messages of the highest diplomatic level. They want to know how we live, how we are building our bright future here. And this reality and accessibility, of course, captivate them.
When our African friends come, they ride the metro, walk the same streets, go to the same stores. They see us, real people, without gloss, without artificiality, without specially staged situations. And this astonishes them. And they want the same for their own countries.
To create the same safe and creative environment that we now have in Russia, we can give them all the necessary tools. That is why both business and education are turning toward Africa.
This year the number of quotas for African students in Russia has more than doubled. This became the basis for increasing quotas for most countries of the continent. And next year, most likely, there will be even more. So it’s not just a green light for Africa; it’s the entire traffic light turned green.
– You’ve anticipated my next question to some extent. Today Russia ranks sixth in the world in terms of the number of foreign students. How strong is Africa’s interest in Russian education, and what steps should be taken to increase the flow of educational tourism from Africa to Russia?
– To begin with, even the quotas allocated—this year there were 4,816—were nowhere near enough. In total, about 30,000 African students study in our country annually. The largest numbers come from Algeria, Angola, Benin, Guinea, Egypt, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Congo, Mali, and Chad.
By the way, this year Africans even wrote to me saying how unfair it was: “We so badly wanted to study in Russia, but we weren’t selected or approved.” One of the advantages in applying for a quota is, of course, knowledge of the Russian language. We all know perfectly well that in Russia we have only one state language — Russian.
And even if an African student knows both French and English and comes here to study in those languages, outside the classroom everyday communication still takes place in Russian. To do something as simple as go to the store and buy groceries, you need Russian.
So instead of losing a year here studying Russian at a preparatory faculty, it’s better to learn it in advance, gradually, the way we ourselves study foreign languages—by taking courses, hiring tutors.
I recently saw that Rossotrudnichestvo (the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation) launched additional Russian language courses in some African countries. Rectors of several African universities also wrote to me saying that they had started similar courses at their own universities. And you know what’s most interesting? African applicants happily study in them—and not for free. That dramatically raises the level of responsibility of the learner.
Of course, fluency in Russian will increase the competitiveness of applicants’ documents submitted to Russian universities. But knowledge of Russian is useful even for just a few days in Russia as a tourist, or for participating in a summer school offline or online, or for visiting Russian cultural centers abroad, which organize a huge number of events, immersing people in our culture, our holidays, our traditions, and instilling Russian culture. They’ll even teach you how to make blini, cook borscht, and sing the song “We Are Migratory Birds.” It’s extraordinary.
– And finally, the traditional question of our magazine. What is your Africa? What attracts you, fascinates you, and touches your soul, what do you love it for?
– I always say that I fell in love with Africa, thanks to Zambia. In December 2024, I went there for a conference. And that was my first encounter with Africa, which I continue to admire to this day.
Yes, many people have been to Egypt or Morocco, but these countries are considered Arab Africa. I had never “gone down the continent” before.
So the trip to Zambia was my baptism by fire with Africa. I spent several days there and immersed myself in another world—sunny, smiling, and very open. I felt as though I had been embraced in Africa’s gentle arms and never let go—so much warmth, softness, respect. I was simply enchanted and returned home, you might say, a public ambassador for Africa. After visiting Zambia, I came to love absolutely all African countries, even though I’ve only also been to Cameroon. And no negative event can undo that charge of positivity, love, and sunshine with which I was “infected” in Zambia and Cameroon.
– Inga, thank you for such an interesting conversation, and we wish you success and inspiration in your work!
Interview by Yulia NOVITSKAYA, writer, journalist, correspondent for New Eastern Outlook
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