Irina Abramova is Director of the Institute for African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), Corresponding Member of the RAS, Professor in the Department for African and Arab Studies of RUDN University, is a leading Russian Africanist and Arabist with more than 35 years of academic experience.

Irina is the author of over 250 academic works, including 10 monographs, among them – The New Role of Africa in the Global Economy in the 21st Century, African Population in the New Global Economy, Resource Potential of Africa and Russia’s National Interests in the 21st Century, African Migration: an Exercise in the Systems Analysis. In these and other works she explored fundamentally new conceptual issues related to the role of developing countries and Africa in shaping the new global economic model and to the problems of developing Russian-African cooperation. What makes her works especially valuable is that they include assessments and forecasts that have been confirmed after their publication. The systems analysis of international migration that carried out by Irina based on the results of her field research in Africa in 2005–2018 was not just a contribution to science, but also made it possible to formulate conclusions and recommendations of practical importance. Analytical materials by Prof. Abramova are highly valued by legislative and executive bodies.

She is also a member of the Scientific Council under the Security Council of the Russian Federation, member of the Expert Council on International Affairs at the Council of Federation of the Russian Federation, invited speaker at the Cambridge International Symposium on Economic Crimes, member of the “Politics” group of the Petersburg Dialogue Russian-German public forum, expert of the Council of Europe on anti-money laundering and human trafficking, guest lecturer at European and African universities. She has received wide international recognition for her work, which is reflected in her participation in more than 100 international conferences, as well as the publication of her works in the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Arab and African countries.

Irina Abramova is a member of the editorial boards of several leading scientific journals on the problems of international relations, African and Arab studies, including such periodicals as Asia and Africa Today, Outlines of Global Transformations, Conflictology, Journal of the Institute for African Studies of the RAS.