- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is on an Africa trip, visiting Egypt, the Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Ethiopia.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is on an Africa trip, visiting Egypt, the Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Ethiopia. Many of the African nations have deep historical ties with Russia.
The Russian Minister’s visit is seen as an effort to amass the support of African nations and re-establish Russia’s influence in Africa after it waned since the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Experts say that Russia wants to project itself as a security broker and a ‘defender of Africa’ to “confront the collective West”. Political observers are of the view that Moscow is trying to leverage on private military companies like the Wagner Group to regain its influence in Africa.
Prior to the Ministerial visit, Russia had signed several political and military deals on the continent. Mali received hundreds of Russian military personnel to train its security forces. Like Mali, Sudan, Chad, Guinea Conakry and Guinea Bissau have also experienced coups in the past year. It is reported that most of the soldiers behind the coups had received military training sponsored by Russia. In 2018, Mali, Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso and Mauritania all sought Russian support to fight the so-called Islamic State and al Qaeda.
Russia is the largest supplier of weapons to Africa. According to the 2020 Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s annual report, Africa accounted for 18% of all Russian arms exports between 2016 and 2020. Russia also has been selling nuclear technology to Zambia, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Egypt and Nigeria.
On the Business front, the Russia-Africa Business forum was held in 2019 with the participation of most of the prominent African leaders. During his visit to Egypt on the 24th July, Lavrov promised his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry that Russia would meet grain orders.
Also read;
https://trendsnafrica.com/europe-seeks-gas-deals-with-algeria-to-sidestep-russia/
