The move comes as several of the continent’s countries have hailed Russia as a better international partner than their previous allies
The first ministerial conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum closed on Sunday, with representatives adopting a joint statement pledging to strengthen cooperation between their countries and Moscow.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced the move during the closing ceremony of the two-day event, held at the Sirius Federal Territory near the city of Sochi on the Black Sea. More than 40 African ministers, as well as some 1,500 other participants, attended the gathering. The new dialogue format was introduced following several Russia-Africa summits.
“I believe that we have worked very successfully. We have adopted documents; our joint statement, which contains generalized assessments of the situation in the world... the state of affairs in our partnership – both in the economic, social, investment and security [spheres], and counter-terrorism,” Lavrov said.
“These assessments are accompanied by specific agreements in each of these areas, creating several roadmaps that will be advanced in the near future, including in preparation for the second conference of the Russia-Africa ministerial partnership,” the top diplomat added.
Lavrov also announced that Moscow had struck agreements in a variety of sectors with a number of African states during bilateral meetings held on the sidelines of the ministerial conference.
Despite Western sanctions, trade turnover between Moscow and African countries has reached a record $24.5 billion, the Russian daily Vedomosti cited Lavrov as saying in his speech opening the forum’s plenary session. Moscow and partners on the continent continue to improve business support mechanisms, find effective logistics solutions, and “use new instruments for mutual settlements that do not depend on negative external interference,” he reportedly stated.
Russia’s growing presence in Africa has become a source of concern for Western nations, particularly the US and France, which have suffered military setbacks in the Sahel region, where Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have decided to cut ties with countries which had traditionally been their allies. The three former French colonies have struck security deals with Moscow to help fight a deadly jihadist insurgency that American and French troops could not defeat during a decade-long counterterrorism mission.
In an interview with AFP on the sidelines of the forum on Saturday, Burkinabe Foreign Minister Karamoko Jean-Marie Traore hailed Russia as a more suitable international partner than the former colonial power, France.“The offer, which has been made through cooperation with Russia, is better suited to the people,” Traore is quoted as having said.
The BBC also reported Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop as sharing the same sentiments, comparing Moscow’s “sincere” partnership to the “neo-colonial” relationship with Western powers. Aside from military cooperation, Mali and Russia are exploring other joint projects in the energy, telecommunications, technology, and mining sectors, the minister reportedly said.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday at the Sirius gathering, Russian presidential adviser Anton Kobyakov said Moscow has so far signed military-technical cooperation agreements with 33 African countries.
“For Russia, the role of security provider for the countries of the African continent is a practical, vital necessity,” he stated.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has also promised to provide “all possible assistance” to African countries, including fighting epidemic diseases and terrorism.
