On Saturday, 23 May, Minister Andrii Sybiha joined online the prestigious international forum The Spier Dialogue, which is held in the Republic of South Africa and serves as an important discussion platform for the entire African continent.

"I am with you today because today the voice of Africa matters. In today's world, the global role of the African continent is steadily growing," the Minister noted at the beginning of his address.

Andrii Sybiha focused on three key areas: the peace efforts of Ukraine and its allies, the new global role of Africa, and the potential of Ukraine's relations with the countries of the continent.

The Minister briefed the forum participants on the situation on the battlefield, the dynamics of peace efforts, and the consequences of Russian aggression for the world.

The Head of the MFA drew particular attention to Russia's criminal recruitment of citizens of African states for the war against Ukraine, and spoke about the schemes used to draw African youth into the occupying forces through fraudulent means.

Andrii Sybiha called for including the countering of Russian recruitment among the agenda priorities of the African Union.

The Minister recalled South Africa's historical experience in overcoming the apartheid regime and emphasized that our countries share a common understanding of such universal values as peace, freedom, and justice. In this context, he reminded the audience how, during his visit to South Africa a year and a half ago, he unveiled a memorial plaque on the famous Wall of Names at Freedom Park in Pretoria with the name of the prominent Ukrainian diplomat Hennadii Udovenko, who made a significant contribution to overcoming the apartheid regime as Vice-Chairman of the United Nations Special Committee against Apartheid.

Separately, the Minister mentioned the African Peace Mission — an initiative of the leaders of six countries: South Africa, Egypt, Senegal, Zambia, the Republic of the Congo, and Uganda. The Minister thanked the leadership of South Africa for their efforts to release deported Ukrainian children and for supporting the UN General Assembly resolution last December, which demands that Russia return the abducted children to Ukraine.

In the concluding part of his speech, the Minister focused on the potential for developing relations between African countries and Ukraine.

"Ukraine is of interest to African states as a partner. We can mutually reinforce one another. We can also assist in developing the self-sufficiency of our African partners. After all, one of our lessons learned during the war is that one needs to be self-sufficient," he stated.

Among the areas in which Ukraine can be of interest to Africa, the Minister named military experience, agriculture, education, medicine, digitalization, and energy.

The Head of the MFA addressed the ministers of the Government of South Africa present in the audience and assured them of Ukraine's readiness to develop cooperation in their respective fields.

Separately, Andrii Sybiha mentioned food security and noted that, despite the war, Ukraine fulfills all its obligations and remains a reliable global guarantor of food security. Within the framework of President Zelenskyy's "Grain from Ukraine" initiative, as of the beginning of 2026, over 300,000 tonnes of agricultural products had already been delivered to 13 countries in Asia and Africa.

The total trade turnover of Ukraine with African countries in 2025–2026 amounted to 4.23 billion USD. Recently, Ukraine has also opened eight new embassies on the African continent. All of this stands as a testament to mutual benefit and the further rapprochement of our countries.