Valdai Club

Besides not having a comparable presence such as key European countries and the US since the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia continues to be valued as a partner in many African countries. These countries are often not in a position to choose their external partners and welcome international partnerships that have the potential to enhance their development agenda, writes Philani Mthembu, Executive Director at the Institute for Global Dialogue, South Africa, for the 19th Annual Meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club.

What follows the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to be a much more challenging economic and geopolitical environment, one that will see countries able to bridge scientific and policy processes, adapting better and working more cohesively than countries not capable of carrying out their development priorities. Tough decisions will have to be taken and carried out by the state, yet with the same type of broad consultation, communication, and decisiveness seen in the COVID-19 response, writes Philani Mthembu, Executive Director at the Institute for Global Dialogue (South Africa).