Russian-African relations have a significant and growing resource for Russia’s advancement towards achieving its national priorities. This applies to the expansion of interaction with Africans in the international arena in conditions of coincidence or proximity of positions on the formation of a new international order, other key international problems, which increases the opportunities for consolidating Russia’s position as an independent and influential center of world politics. But on the wave of extremely thoughtful attitude of African leaders, who support and share, for the most part, similar views of the Russian leadership on conducting foreign policy and foreign economic dialog, it is very important to develop and reinforce with real actions our so-called “turn” towards Africa. The structural policy should be complemented by qualitative changes in the approach to building Russian-African relations in general.
This requires serious systematic work in many areas.
The power of Western countries on the African continent should not be underestimated due to their experience in conducting “democratic coups” and the presence of old political ties in the leadership of African countries. In addition, China, which needs neither partners nor competitors in the region, is very wary of Russian initiatives in Africa. In this regard, the still pressing issues of economic and humanitarian cooperation with Africa should be worked out taking into account the full range of constraints and problems that Russia has faced recently. The more solutions and potential models are found, the more opportunities will open up, which, in turn, will give the Russia-Africa track a promising and thoughtful character.
The unprecedented sanctions restrictions imposed on the financial and energy sectors of the Russian economy dictate the necessity of finding rapid alternative solutions. In the case of African countries, Russia needs to develop completely new financial instruments that would allow Russian and African businesses to establish cooperation regardless of the current political and economic environment.
A successful “Russia-Africa mission” requires a strategy. Not assurances, commitments and intentions, but an exceptionally clear, calibrated plan with real projects, reasonable efficiency and verifiable results. A basis must be formulated at all levels: political, economic and humanitarian.