March 18-19, 2026 Scientific Conference “Industrial Development Strategies of African Countries”
THE MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND HIGHER EDUCATION
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
INSTITUTE FOR AFRICAN STUDIES
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30/1 ул. Спиридоновка, Москва, 123001 |
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30/1 Spiridonovka str., Moscow, 123001 |
CENTRE FOR TRANSITION ECONOMY STUDIES
INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES OF AFRICAN COUNTIRE
International Scientific Conference
Moscow, Russia, 18-19 March 2026
First Announcement and Call for Abstracts
On March 18-19, 2026, the Centre for Transition Economy Studies of the Institute for African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences will hold a scientific conference “Industrial Development Strategies of African Countries”. The conference will dwell upon a wide range of issues related to Africa’s industrial development, the modernization of the African production base, and the potential for Russian-African cooperation in this area.
Experts in African studies from Russia and the world, as well as representatives of Russian government and business circles involved in trade and economic cooperation with African countries, are invited to participate. The event will include a presentation of a full-text database on African development strategies, prepared by the team of the Institute for African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences (https://data.inafran.ru/ru/).
The in-person part of the conference (March 18) will focus on the development of the manufacturing and extractive industries, special economic zones, energy and transport infrastructure, digitalization, and the agro-industrial complex. The working language is Russian.
The second day of the conference will be an online discussion in English (March 19) featuring African colleagues on the localization of production chains in Africa, covering both agricultural and mineral processing.
A collective monograph is planned for publication following the conference. Please submit your applications for participation in the conference and abstracts of 150-300 words, containing a summary of the main ideas of the presentation, to the conference organizers at novikov.aleksandr.d@yandex.ru by March 10, 2026. The application must include the speaker's full name, affiliation and position, academic degree, contact phone number and email address. Abstracts should be typed in Times New Roman, 14-point font, 1.5-point spacing, with endnotes.
Topics of the Conference
1. Continental, regional and national programs and plans of industrial development in Africa. Prospects of continental and regional production chains.
2. Study of the manufacturing market in African countries: manufacturing and agro-industrial complexes
3. Energy, transport, and digitalization: necessary infrastructure for industrial development.
4. Interests of Multinational Corporations in Africa: conditions, forms of activities and geographical distribution. The role of free economic zones.
5. Government policy regarding Multinational Corporations and control over export-import flows.
6. The role of international organizations and activities of external actors.
7. Possible areas and prospects for expanding mutually beneficial cooperation for Russian companies in Africa.
