Not more than three months ago, President Donald Trump admitted he didn't know what BRICS was, referring to it dismissively as a "club of a few trying to play naughty", while his Secretary of State was unaware of which countries constitute ASEAN. This ignorance is a direct result of the deliberate media blackout surrounding any development that seeks to construct a more cohesive worldview, one that registers and respects the voices and opinions of the Global South.

A recent example of such overlooked significance is the Third Russian-African Conference of the Valdai Discussion Club, titled "Realpolitik in a Divided World: Rethinking Russia-South Africa Ties in a Global and African Context". Held in Pretoria, South Africa, the event brought together more than 60 prominent experts and policymakers from across Africa and Russia, including participants from Egypt, Zimbabwe, Côte d'Ivoire, Tanzania, South Africa and Russia.

This year's conference reinforced the Valdai Club's tradition of fostering Russian-African........

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