By Ruzeki, Shadow News.
What are the prospects for cooperation between Russia and Africa?
The areas of increased co-operation between Russia and Africa are in the areas of agriculture, energy, security, education and health.
-What are the challenges and advantages of Africa-Russia cooperation?
Apart from Western countries putting pressure on Africa not to cooperate with Russia, the other challenges which Russia faces, regarding increasing co-operation in Africa is logistical, financial and infrastructure. The West has the advantage of dominating certain African nations economically.
Now, the advantages that Russia has unlike Western nations is historical and cultural, Russia was never involved in colonialising Africa and during the cold war, contributed to a number of African nations gaining independence from former western colonial powers.
-What are the positive aspects of the Russia-Africa Summit memorandum?
- The positive aspects of the recent Russia-Africa Forum were 4 joint declarations signed between Russia and all heads of states, including the head of the African Union.
Moreover, Russia planning to increase the number of embassies in Africa, where since the 1990s, was closed down.
Additionally, Russia announced it will provide grain for free after its withdrawal from the Black Sea grain deal, where Africa was provided with little to no grain. Importantly, Russia announced it would write off a total of $23 billion in debt obligations.
Russia will continue grain supplies to the African continent. Actually, in 3-4 months, free grain will be sent to Africa.
The potential stumbling blocks to Russia’s ability to deliver grain is logistics, considering the risks of undersea drone attacks in the Black Sea by the Ukraine forces.
The way to overcome this is potential setback is to increase the transit of grain via the North-South Transport Corridor to have a secure route to facilitate deliveries to Africa.
- Reasons why a number of countries on the African continent are preparing to join the BRICS and prefer to cooperate not with Europe and the United States, but with Russia, China and their allies.
The main reasons why BRICS looks attractive for the number of African nations wanting to join is economics. Especially, as each nation has undergone the same or similar experience of development (neo-liberalism and its disastrous effects).
BRICS has surpassed the G7 in terms of total GDP value and wealth. The group members never interfere with a nation’s internal affairs. Especially, as certain western nations which have historically and to this day, continue to openly sponsor colour revolutions to topple governments, and force controversial policies on nations which don’t abide by their demands.
The emergence of new multilateral institutions such as the BRICS new development bank, African Development Bank and Asian Investment Infrastructure Bank, provides a new source of funding to support key projects in African nations and breaks the monopoly of financial loaning from the World Bank and in the worst-case scenario, the I.M.F.
Each member of the BRICS has played a key role in supporting the interests of African nations at other multilateral institutions such as the G20, supporting the application of the African Union to become a member.
- How could Africa-Russia improve interaction in the cultural sphere?
Russia must increase its cultural exchanges in education, sports, art and media. As these kind of exchanges are necessary to understand what makes each nation unique and areas of cooperation.
- What is BRICS to Africa?
For Africns, the BRICS bloc provide alternative economic development models for other developing nations to pursue, instead of the failed neo-liberal policies which continue to be promoted by western nations despite the failed promises of neo-liberalist policies in Africa.
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