(MENAFN) A cybersecurity and AI forum scheduled for September 15–17 in Equatorial Guinea will focus on “non-Western” strategies for safeguarding digital infrastructure and managing cross-border payments, organizers said. Backed by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo and his government, the event aims to explore digital and financial sovereignty beyond Western frameworks.

Alexander Ryzhov, co-chair of the organizing committee, told African Initiative that discussions will target solutions tailored to the needs of Global South economies, including secure banking, payment systems, and telecommunications.

Topics will include Russia’s cybersecurity model for critical infrastructure, secure digital payment systems, and cloud storage solutions. Russian participants will include Rosatom, Rostelecom, major banks, IT providers, Rossotrudnichestvo, and energy companies such as Gazprom and Rosneft. International participants include China’s CIDCA, the UN Fund for South-South Cooperation, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, BRICS Bank, the Asian-African Fund, and Huawei.

The forum will also address economic and strategic collaboration, including joint bank accounts, mineral resource investments, and establishing a North-South digital and telecom corridor. Previous events, such as the Global Digital Forum in Nizhny Novgorod, showed strong African interest in learning from Russia’s AI and tech expertise. Moscow has expressed readiness to support African nations in developing technologies that ensure self-sufficiency and digital sovereignty.

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