On May 19, 2026, a delegation of the Portfolio Committee on Economic Development of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, South Africa, visited the Institute for African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. As part of the visit, the South African guests met with the Institute’s leadership and staff, discussed prospects for Russian-African cooperation, and exchanged views on issues of economic development and academic collaboration.
Gauteng is the smallest province of the Republic of South Africa by area, yet it accounts for one third of the country’s gross domestic product. This represents 10% of the total GDP of sub-Saharan Africa. Gauteng is home to South Africa’s administrative capital, Pretoria, also known as Tshwane, as well as the country’s largest city, Johannesburg. The province is the economic centre of the region and serves as a “gateway to Africa” for foreign companies establishing branches and representative offices in Johannesburg.
The Gauteng Provincial Legislature includes representatives of 10 political parties. Members of these political forces also serve on the Portfolio Committee on Economic Development. The delegation that visited the Institute for African Studies was highly representative: it included 14 members of the legislature from seven political parties. The delegation was headed by Thulani Kunene, Deputy Chairperson of Committees of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, and Anton Alberts, Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Economic Development and National Chairperson of the Freedom Front Plus party.
Daria Zelenova, PhD in Political Science and and Head of the Centre for African Strategy in BRICS, and Daria Turianitsa, Junior Research Fellow at the Centre for Centre for African Strategy in BRICS, discussed Russian-African and Russian-South African economic relations, as well as prospects for cooperation with Gauteng Province in industry, technology, food security, water supply and agriculture. The discussion also addressed the need to strengthen academic ties and expert analytical cooperation, including within the BRICS framework and in the context of economic integration among the countries of the Global South.
