Русский
The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, has met with Denis Sassou Nguesso, the President of the Republic of the Congo during the 2026 Russia-Africa Summit.
Taking part in the meeting on the Russian side were Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Maxim Oreshkin, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office – Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of the Congo Dmitry Korepanov, Minister of Economic Development, Russian Co-Chair of the Russian-Ethiopian Intergovernmental Commission for Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation and Trade Maxim Reshetnikov, Director of the Federal Service for Military Technical Cooperation Dmitry Shugayev, Head of the Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare Anna Popova, First Deputy Minister of Energy, Russian Co-Chair of the Russian-Congolese Mixed Commission for Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation and Trade Pavel Sorokin, Deputy Defence Minister Vasily Osmakov, Chief of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces – Deputy Chief of the General Staff Igor Kostyukov, Deputy Chief of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Andrei Averyanov, Director General of State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom Alexei Likhachev, and CEO of Rosoboronexport Alexander Mikheyev.
This is what they had to say:
Vladimir Putin: “Good afternoon, Mr President, my friend, colleagues, we have worked together at both the first and second Russia-Africa summits in Sochi and St Petersburg, and today, together with our other African friends, our third summit. In my view, the results are highly satisfactory. We have achieved practically all the objectives we had set for ourselves.
I would like to emphasise that our bilateral relations are developing successfully; we maintain regular political dialogue, and we are expanding trade and economic ties as well as strengthening scientific, technical and humanitarian cooperation.
Last year, an important intergovernmental agreement on the promotion and mutual protection of investments was signed. In Russia, the domestic procedures for its entry into force have already been completed. In late September, the eighth meeting of the intergovernmental commission was held in Brazzaville. As was agreed, a plan for the comprehensive development of cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Republic of the Congo for the period 2026–2028 has been signed.
Currently, 863 students from the Republic of the Congo are studying in Russia. Our cooperation in this area has a solid historical foundation.
Cultural ties are also developing. In mid-July, Brazzaville hosted the three-day ‘We Are Together’ festival of Russian language and culture, which concluded with an open day dedicated to education in Russia.
We will certainly continue our work at the same pace in all the areas we have outlined. Once again, welcome. I am very pleased to see you in Moscow.”
Sassou-Nguesso: “Mr President, my dear friend, first of all, I would like to say how pleased I am to be back in Moscow this year. I was here in April, when we held talks. To begin with, I would like to thank you for the successful organisation of this summit. We have achieved all the goals we set ourselves. I have spoken with other African leaders, and they share my assessment: we have achieved tangible results.
You have mentioned all the areas of our bilateral cooperation. I would like to note that the eighth meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission, held in Brazzaville, gave further impetus to our cooperation. We discussed a wide range of issues, agreed on specific measures and set goals that we want to achieve.
During this summit, I have heard many speakers talk about the importance of developing partnership between Russia and Africa. Many stressed the need to move towards practical implementation. This is precisely what I told the ministers who visited Brazzaville: “You have identified specific goals, and now we must work towards achieving them.” They agreed with me.
Indeed, we have already outlined numerous objectives, and our cooperation covers a wide range of areas, including infrastructure, the economy, cultural exchanges, professional training, and energy. We have set ourselves many goals, and what we need now is effective political cooperation. One of the main strengths of our relations is the friendship between the leaders of our two countries. With this in mind, I have no doubt that we will achieve all the goals we have set.”
The Congo has a population of approximately 6.3 million people, a GDP (PPP) of US$28 billion, and a GDP per capita (PPP) of US$5,550. It has the tenth largest oil reserves in Africa and is a critical component of powering future pan-African industrial growth.
Russia-Republic of Congo Bilateral Trade & Investment
The Russian ambassador to the Republic of the Congo, Ilyas Iskandarov, stated in early 2026 that “In 2025 the Congolese economy showed positive dynamics, and in 2026 GDP growth of 3.6% is expected due to oil production, the development of agriculture, and mining. Over the post-Covid period bilateral trade turnover has increased fourfold.”
Iskandarov stated that Russian companies-Lukoil, Rosatom, Inter RAO-Export, Sberbank, and Rusal-are already operating in the country.
Two major projects are the agreement on the construction of the Pointe-Noire – Lutete – Maloukou – Tréchot petroleum products pipeline has been signed and ratified. That will ferry oil from the Congo’s offshore reserves to the capital city. Russia holds a 90% stake in this project. Construction is planned from 2026 and to be completed within three years and should be operational by the end of 2029.
Another is a pilot project led by Rosatom (Russia’s state-owned nuclear and energy corporation) to construct two small modular hydropower facilities with a combined capacity of 2.6 megawatts, with discussions on expanding bilateral energy cooperation, with long-term plans or proposals eyeing up to 500 MW (and potentially scaling up to 1,500 MW) across selected sites in the country.
The mini-hydropower plants use containerized, modular designs intended for rapid deployment, lower capital costs, remote monitoring, and anti-tamper security features tailored for rural and underserved areas, and are part of a broader set of energy and infrastructure agreements between Moscow and Brazzaville.
Russia has other investments in the oil and gas sector, including related projects, while military and technical cooperation is also part of the bilateral mix, with training and supplies of new Russian military equipment to the country.
In October 2025, Russia and the Republic of the Congo signed an intergovernmental Agreement on the Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments (Bilateral Investment Treaty / BIT), which was submitted to the Russian State Duma for ratification. That was signed into law in June 2026 and will improve trade and investment volumes.
In 2025, bilateral trade between Russia and the Republic of the Congo reached US$280 million.
The Republic of Congo traditionally exports coffee, fruits (bananas, pineapples, and mangoes), valuable timber and lumber, precious stones (diamonds), and metals (copper and cobalt), as well as cocoa beans and their processed products, to Russia. In turn, Russia exports mainly wheat and some pharmaceuticals.
