Mirna Fahmy – Diplomatic Inside
Russia is keen to enhance its relations with Africa in many ways more than the continent’s relations with the United States and Europe.
Since the middle of the last century, the United States (U.S.) and Europe have deployed their military commands and forces in many African countries to have a significant presence and involvement in utilizing and securing natural resources and maintaining stability across the African continent.
Companies from Europe and America are involved in utilizing the natural resources of this continent in different ways, generating a staggering amount of revenue. This includes agriculture, mining and drilling, oil and natural gas, clean energy, and enhanced security.
Russia wants to venture into this joint wealth as well. Russia’s trade with Africa is relatively weak in comparison with other countries, which are mainly western countries.
This has driven the country to pursue a mix of strategic, economic, and geopolitical interests as it seeks to challenge Western dominance on the continent and advance its own global influence.
First of all, “Strategic Positioning,” where Russia wants to establish a network of military bases and partnerships across Africa to project power, counter Western influence, and potentially threaten NATO’s southern flank. This includes seeking naval bases in locations like Libya and Sudan. In 2019, Sudan and Russia signed an agreement that reportedly gives the Russian Navy access to Sudanese ports. Per the agreement, the prospective base would host a naval logistics center and repair yard, up to 300 personnel, and four naval ships, including nuclear-powered vessels.The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) reports that Russian arms actually make up the majority, at 87 percent. Russia is the major weapons supplier to Sudan.
Interested in the natural resources as much as the other two continents, Russia is zealous in gaining access to Africa’s natural resources, such as oil, gas, minerals, and agricultural products. This includes making deals with African governments and using private military contractors like the Wagner Group to secure mining concessions. The Wagner Group is known to have operated in at least 11 countries: Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Syria, Sudan, Mozambique, the Central African Republic, Mali, Libya, Venezuela, and Madagascar. It is wildly spouted that Wagner played an indisputable role in Sudan’s civil war.
Wagner has formed a relationship with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and its commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hamedi. According to CNN, the Russian mercenary group Wagner has been supplying Sudan’s RSF with missiles to aid their fight against the country’s army while securing the gold mines.
Wagner’s operation in many areas of Africa ensures Russia’s “Regime Security” on the continent. Also, Russia has provided military support to prop up authoritarian leaders in Africa, such as in the Central African Republic and Burkina Faso, in exchange for political loyalty and access. This helps secure Russia’s investments and partnerships. Russia has concluded military cooperation agreements with 43 African countries and is a major, though declining, arms supplier to Africa, a European Parliament report stated.
Countering Western influence is Russia’s biggest play in court since the western countries rally Ukraine in all aspects of its war against Russia. In response, Russia is trying to undermine Western diplomatic and economic influence in Africa by offering an alternative partner that does not condition support on democratic reforms. It seeks to portray itself as an anti-colonial power and champion of a “multipolar” world order.
For example, Niger formed a new pact in terms of military support with Russia and Iran, dissolving its pact with the U.S., which used to give American troops a key base and launchpad in Africa’s Sahel region. U.S. troops have had many operational bases since 2018 to launch drone operations against armed groups linked to ISIL (ISIS) and al-Qaeda in the Sahel. Now everything is shifted to Russia, escalating more tensions not only between the U.S. and Niger but also with France. Niger is the biggest exporter of uranium to many western countries, where France is on top of them.
By this, Russia will incite a “geopolitical leverage” for its sake. Expanding its foothold in Africa, Russia aims to gain more votes and support at the United Nations and other international forums, as well as disrupt Western efforts to isolate Russia globally over the invasion of Ukraine.
The 2023 Russia-Africa summit failed to address several African leaders’ concerns about the impact of the war in Ukraine on their countries’ economies.
SPIEF role:
Russia’s position in the African mining and energy industries has recently grown, owing in large part to mining concessions granted to Wagner-associated businesses. The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) has boosted its presence. Due to the ongoing war in Ukraine and international sanctions, SPIEF has seen a shift in attendance, with Western business leaders and heads of state largely absent. Instead, Russia is focusing on building relationships with countries in Asia, Latin America, and Africa.
Energy and trade cooperation have been prominent between Russia and Africa. Russia has been a reliable partner for Africa in the energy sector, and SPIEF serves as a platform to strengthen this cooperation and move towards a strategic partnership. Russian companies are eager to explore and invest in international markets, including Africa, offering technological expertise to unlock its energy potential.
SPIEF 27th in 2024 welcomed a sheer number of more than 19,000 participants from over 100 countries discussing international trade and cooperation, sales markets, technology leadership, and investment.
“Between the countries, there is a real race for strengthening its sovereignty, and on X key levels of government value, the economic countries that have recently performed as leaders of global development are trying,” Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said at the SPIEF summit’s opening.
Putin pointed out two strong countries that are far ahead of being considered second-world countries. Putin described them as the global leaders in dynamics, becoming louder in South Asian countries that are making themselves known and in Africa, where there is a high birth rate. The level of urbanisation is rapid, estimating the economic growth of experts and specialised specialists.
“The world is now experiencing explosive technological growth in almost all spheres of life,” Putin added. Technology shouldn’t only produce new solutions for countries, as Putin highlighted, but also provide their rapid and advanced implementation.
Four African presidents travelled to the forum: President of Bolivia Luis Alberto Arce Catacora; President of Zimbabwe Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa; President of the Republic of Abkhazia Aslan Bzhania; and President of Republika Srpska (Bosnia and Herzegovina) Milorad Dodik.
The forum’s guests also included members of the royal families of the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Abdullah Khalifa Salman Al Khalifa and Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud).
There are more than 120 high-ranking foreign officials, including heads of international organisations and associations, ministers of foreign affairs, heads of diplomatic missions, and the leaders of foreign cities and regions. The largest delegations came from China (192 participants), the UAE (105), Zimbabwe (86), Kazakhstan (84), India (80), and Oman (75).
From the Russian side, the forum was attended by 40 high-ranking officials, 30 heads of federal services and agencies, and 81 heads of Russia’s regions.
More than 8,300 representatives of Russian and foreign businesses took part in the forum. Foreign businesses were represented at the forum by more than 480 companies from 94 countries and territories, while Russian businesses were represented by more than 3,300 companies.
For the first time, the forum was attended by representatives of key companies and organisations in the diamond (mining) industry from African and South Asian countries.
The forum resulted in the signing of 1,073 agreements for a total of RUB 6.492 trillion ($71.87 billion). This will comprise agreements whose amount does not constitute a commercial secret, including 55 with representatives of foreign companies. All of them aim at providing thousands of job opportunities for Russians and other citizens in the participating countries.