Mahama drives pragmatic non-alignment at 3rd Russia-Africa Summit
Nearly forty years after completing his postgraduate studies in the then Soviet Union, Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama returned to Moscow, the capital of the Russian Federation, for the third Russia – Africa Summit held on 28th and 29th October 2026. The two-day gathering was a test of Russia’s growing influence across the African continent […]
Nearly four decades after John Dramani Mahama completed his postgraduate studies in the former Soviet Union, Ghana's President returned to Moscow for the 3rd Russia-Africa Summit on October 28th and 29th, 2026. The summit aimed to strengthen economic and security ties between Russia and African leaders. During interviews with RT and Sputnik, Mahama shared personal accounts from his time as a student in the Soviet Union, highlighting Ghana-Russia educational partnerships and advocating for increased academic exchange and professional cooperation.
Leading a high-powered Ghanaian delegation, Mahama championed Ghana's non-alignment policy and pushed for Ghana's economic interests, securing six major bilateral commitments from Russian President Vladimir Putin. One significant outcome was Russia's commitment to partner with Ghana's Atomic Energy Commission to develop a 2,000-megawatt nuclear power plant, aimed at enhancing Ghana's long-term energy security.
Mahama also addressed the need for Africa to move away from aid dependency and emphasized the continent's potential for mutual investment with Russian enterprises, particularly in agriculture, healthcare, energy security, and digital services. He stressed the importance of eliminating administrative bottlenecks and transforming goodwill into robust, sustainable commercial ties.
Acknowledging Russia's historical support for Africa during colonialism, Mahama expressed the continent's readiness to leverage Russia's technological expertise to drive modern industrialization and prosperity. Key outcomes from the summit included Russia's support for Ghana's application to join BRICS, proposals for de-dollarization and digital finance in bilateral trade, and direct invitations for Russian enterprises to invest in Ghana's high-value sectors.
Additionally, Russia pledged to cease recruiting Ghanaian citizens into the Ukraine conflict and launched a Russia-Africa Digital Innovation and Artificial Intelligence Programme for technology transfers.
Written by urgent.news from MyJoyOnline Ghana's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
