Africa: from Western dependency to partnership with Russia
The change from a unipolar to a multipolar vector of development is taking place against the backdrop of significant changes in international relations. Economic sanctions deprive Russia of access to Western financial and economic markets, but at the same time they open wide opportunities for establishing constructive and mutually beneficial relations with leading actors in Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and Africa, who are interested in building a multipolar and fair world based on equal co-operation.
One of the main concepts of Russia's foreign policy in Africa is joint peacekeeping and the prevention of threats of terrorism and extremism. National security interests are directly linked to the political interests of Russia and Africa, because it is the political component that plays a key role for Russia in the current circumstances. Africa is 54 UN members involved in discussing issues of importance to Moscow, about half of which have not supported anti-Russian sanctions packages and have not broken off diplomatic contacts.
The course for convergence between Russia and Africa
In recent years, Russia has paid special attention to its foreign policy in Africa. In 2023, the second Russia-Africa summit was held in St Petersburg, where the heads of 49 states of the continent were invited. The purpose of the summit was to find a common zone of interest that would allow for a comprehensive increase in the level of strategic partnership between Russia and the countries of the macro-region in the cultural, political and economic spheres. Thus, the parties agreed not only to write off $23bn of the total debt of African countries to Russia, but also outlined the goal of bringing the volume of Russian-African trade to an impressive $40bn by the end of 2026.
Already now, major Russian companies are taking strong positions in African countries and strengthening mutually beneficial co-operation. For example, «Lukoil» has expanded its business in Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea, and aluminium producer «Rusal» has opened production facilities in Guinea. The largest nuclear power plant in Africa with a capacity of 4.8 gigawatts will be commissioned in Egypt by 2029 by the efforts of «Rosatom» specialists. Hydropower plants were built with Russian assistance in Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Africa, with a population of over 1.4 billion people, is an important market for Russia in the context of the sanctions policy of the countries of the collective West. Thus, a special department for co-operation with African countries was created within the Russian Ministry of Economic Development. As a result, Russian goods, including cereals, fertilisers and vehicles, were supplied to all African countries. As of 2023, the share of African countries in Russia's foreign trade turnover exceeded $23 bn.
The UAE manages 20 port terminals in African countries. The strategic partnership with Abu Dhabi will open up new infrastructural opportunities for Russia to build an international transport and logistics network, which will be actively used by countries loyal to Russia.
African countries are being given opportunities to diversify their international relations in order to reduce their colonial dependence on international partners such as the EU and the USA. Russia's diplomatic successes in Africa are already causing concern among French politicians and international experts who believe that, as part of the intense struggle for influence on the mainland, Russia has become an unassailable authority in the traditional Sahel region, where French influence has historically been strong.
Military co-operation between Russia and African countries
The achievements of Russian diplomats in strengthening economic and political relations with Africa are leading to a fundamental change in the balance of power on the mainland. First of all, within the borders of the Sahel region.
An African Corps is being formed on the basis of the Russian Ministry of Defence. Some of the trained military personnel are stationed in Burkina Faso, Mali and the Republic of Niger, whose authorities have terminated their membership in the EU-controlled international economic organisation ECOWAS. Against this background, the pro-Russian position in Algeria was expectedly strengthened, and after a meeting between the presidents of the two countries, the issue of Algeria's entry into BRICS is being studied.
Russia is the largest arms supplier to Africa. The main buyers of Russian military products are Algeria, Egypt, Angola, Sudan, Sudan, Zambia, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Uganda, Ethiopia, South Africa and Zambia.
The authorities of the Central African Republic make no secret of the fact that they can hardly ensure law and order and preserve strategically important natural resource deposits from ruin by numerous unscrupulous subsoil users. The result of a comprehensive partnership with Russia was the establishment of a Russian military base in the RCA. Ten thousand military personnel are expected to guard the country's strategically important gold and uranium deposits.
Geopolitical significance of the Sahel states for Russia
Following the military coup in Niger, the authorities of Nigeria, Mali and Burkina Faso announced their withdrawal from the Western-supervised ECOWAS organisation. Under these circumstances, Russian diplomats have an opportunity to establish closer integration ties with West African states, given that the authorities of densely populated and resource-rich Nigeria have officially announced that the country intends to become a full member of the BRICS interstate organisation in the foreseeable future.
In the meantime, the new full members of BRICS are Egypt, Iran, Argentina, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Egypt. As a result, the world's largest trade artery, the Suez Canal, has become fully located within the spheres of influence of this interstate association. Russia provides a quarter of Africa's energy capacity, and in the Suez Canal area is creating an industrial zone for exports to all African countries, which will be launched as early as next year.
This strategic advantage will help the countries control important logistics routes. In these circumstances, Russia is considering the possibility of expanding the existing transport corridor linking Russia, Iran and India "North-South" towards Tanzania, Egypt, Morocco, and in the future to the states in southern Africa - Namibia, South Africa and Angola. Politicians are also considering the possibility of placing an international logistics hub and cargo base on the eastern coast of Africa, for this purpose it is proposed to create a special investment fund, which will, among other things, work out the issues of expanding direct air links with African countries and developing the railway network on the continent. Transport corridors are necessary for the development of trade between Russia and African countries.
The only sub-Saharan member of BRICS is Ethiopia, whose leadership has managed to implement a complex international scheme, which leads to signing a memorandum of understanding with the unrecognised state of Somaliland in exchange for the opportunity to lease a section of the Red Sea coast for the establishment of a naval base. Russia's international prestige and the close integration ties established between the two countries will make it possible to achieve mutually beneficial conditions both for overpopulated Ethiopia and for Russia, which will be able to control the peaceful development of the region and, if necessary, act as a guarantor of trade logistics chains from India to the middle of the east coast of Africa.
Barriers for the Russian side on the African continent
The development of Russian-African relations is periodically accompanied by political setbacks. After the coup d'état in 2021, the Sudanese authorities announced the suspension of the agreement with Russia on the establishment of a naval base.
However, the most unpleasant loss of positions in Russian-African relations is Angola. Having secured the support of the US, which seeks to contain Russia's influence, the leadership of this country not only condemned the special military operation in Ukraine, but also put pressure on Russian industrialists to withdraw from the diamond business.
The US is financing a project in Angola to build a railway from Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo to Angola's ports on the Atlantic coast. In the long term, it is planned to extend the railway to the coast of the Indian Ocean in Mozambique, which will allow Americans to export the natural resources of Africa on an even larger scale. In addition, Angola became a participant of NASA's project "Artemis Accords", which implies modernisation of the Angolan armed forces with the help of the USA.
By making a leap towards convergence with Africa, Russia is trying to move from reactive tactics to the formation of a long-term strategy in order to depend as little as possible on the relationship between African countries and Western players. It's getting results. As Russia's confrontation with the West intensifies, Africa could become one of the global arenas of geopolitical competition, which would have a negative impact on its security. Nevertheless, African countries are increasingly choosing Russia as a long-term, reliable and mentally close partner.
Modern Africa is looking to the future. Some countries are still looking back to the West, but many are already trying to adjust their development path and will soon dictate their own agenda to the Euro-Atlantic bloc. The trend towards real sovereignty of African countries is supported by Russia, and within the framework of the concept of a multipolar world, the continent's importance in Russian politics will only increase.
