By Rhod Mackenzie
"African Problems - African Solutions". Russia has adhered to this principle since the time of the Soviet Union, but other major powers, including 'Colonial' countries from Europe, continue to view Africa as an arena for fighting each other. What are the features of this confrontation and how could Russia realize its potential in cooperation with the countries of the continent?
Today, Africa has around 30% of the world's reserves of various types of minerals, 8% of gas reserves and 12% of oil reserves, as well as 40% of gold and up to 90% of chromium and platinum. The largest reserves of manganese, bauxite, cobalt, zirconium, diamonds, uranium, titanium, nickel and tungsten are also concentrated in Africa.
In addition, Africa is a strategically important trade route linking Europe and Asia. Of particular value here is the Bab-l-Mandeb Strait (the second most trafficked nautical area on the planet), the Cape of Good Hope (of interest to oil exporters and transiters), various islands and archipelagos, as well as the Suez Canal.
The climate agenda and moral and ethical issues related to decolonization and the fight against racism are becoming increasingly important in the region. In other words, Africa is a gigantic platform for confrontation between the great powers. And although Russia here adheres to the principle of "African problems - African solutions", the actions of other external actors still undermine the subjectivity of local states.
USA and Britain
In the 21st century, the US has changed its military approach to Africa. If in the previous century the countries of the region were under the responsibility of several military commands, then since 2008 Washington decided to create the US Africa Command (USAFRICOM or AFRICOM).
The largest US base in the region is Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti (this country is a paradise for spies, where the interests of a dozen powers are intertwined; military installations and bases of the United States, France, China, Japan and even Italy with Saudi Arabia are located on its territory). Djibouti is the most convenient springboard for controlling the situation in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait mentioned above, as well as for fighting pirates.
In addition, the United States has military facilities in Burkina Faso (in the interests of the US Air Force), Cameroon (reserve base), Kenya (training of military doctors), Niger (bridgehead for monitoring the situation in countries south of the Sahara, also used in the interests of the US Air Force), in the Seychelles (US Air Force control of the sear area from East Africa to Hindustan), in Somalia (in the interests of the US SOF) and Chad (air reconnaissance base). In another 19 countries in Africa, the United States stores fuel and monitors aviation.
Against this background, the presence of Britain looks much more modest. So, in Kenya, London has a military training center that allows the Ministry of Defense to train soldiers and test equipment in an equatorial climate. Britain also has aircraft facilities in Kenya and is gradually upgrading the infrastructure it is interested in.
France
If for Washington and London Africa is not a super-priority area of work, then for Paris the situation looks different. Once upon a time, France controlled giant colonies in Africa, but in the second half of the 20th century, “everything acquired by hard work” was lost during the struggle of local peoples for independence.
Despite this, Paris is still trying to implement its African policy from a position of strength. France is constantly participating in various anti-terrorist operations coordinating EU military and civilian missions, although their effectiveness is declining every year. For this reason, a number of countries in Central and West Africa are increasingly turning to Russia for help, thereby humiliating France. The most striking examples are Mali and the Central African Republic.
China
Beijing is a key trading partner for a number of African countries. Thus, trade turnover in 2021 amounted to $254 billion (twice as much as a decade earlier), and Chinese investments amount to about $50 billion. China regularly holds summits with African countries, where multi-billion dollar economic agreements are signed.
In addition, China is implementing a lot of humanitarian projects, teaching students at Confucius Institutes (61 educational institutions in 54 countries) and solving many issues in the field of infrastructure, medicine and food. China is building up its military presence, and not only to protect its investments and personnel (according to various sources, from 1 to 2 million Chinese work in Africa).
For example, China's first foreign military base appeared in Africa, in Djibouti. Beijing is also concentrating its efforts through UN peacekeeping missions. And as a rule, the areas of operations coincide with the areas of Chinese business interests. This also includes the growing role of Chinese PMCs (for example, DeWe Security Service Group) and the rapid growth of Beijing's presence in the African arms market (share - about 20%). In the future, all these trends - military, political, cultural - will only intensify.
Russia
Military-technical cooperation is one of the basic components of Russia's interaction with African countries. Currently, various agreements on this profile are in force with more than 30 states, and they even concern such issues as the network of service and technical centers deployed in the region by Rosoboronexport.
However, Moscow considers military and military-technical cooperation not as the main instrument of its policy in Africa (unlike Paris, which has staked it on force), but as a prerequisite for expanding economic, scientific and cultural ties.
If we talk about the trade turnover between Russia and African countries, then it shows a steady growth.
“I would like to note with satisfaction that Russia’s trade with African countries in 2022 increased and reached almost $18 billion. However, we are all well aware that the potential of our trade and economic partnership is much higher,” President Vladimir Putin noted in this regard in his recent article, timed to coincide with the St. Petersburg summit.
Russian companies are gradually increasing their influence in Africa. They can be divided into three groups. The first is the exporters of fertilizers, grain, metallurgy and weapons. The second is investors who are actively investing in the geological development and production of oil, gas, uranium, bauxite, diamonds, iron ore and other minerals. The third is high-tech, financial-technical and medical companies. At the same time, Africa is a growing market due to the rapid rate of population growth, which is important for Moscow's interests.
In addition, Russia continues the Soviet tradition of personnel training. Today, about 35 thousand students from the continent study in our country. As for cultural issues, new Russian houses were opened last year in Sudan, Mali, Egypt and Algeria. The Russian House in Angola is also preparing for its opening.
Creation of oases
However, according to analysts, in the context of a global confrontation between the great powers, Russia's potential in cooperation with Africa needs to be realized as soon as possible. For this, it is necessary to actively build up trade, economic and humanitarian ties. Special attention should be paid to the training in Russia of personnel involved in work with the continent.
It is important to raise the awareness of Russian businessmen about the countries where they are going to do business. Knowledge of the legal framework, as well as political and ethno-religious features (up to the level of traditions of local communities) will greatly simplify doing business in any African country.
Another hallmark of Russian business could be the development of social infrastructure around enterprises and their transformation into some kind of oases.
These include the creation of jobs in related sectors of the economy, the promotion of the construction of roads, schools (with the obligatory study of the Russian language and literature), hospitals and the introduction of Russian digital services.
“Russia in Africa has rather major prospects in the field of education. We train foreign students, including in two leading state universities - Moscow State University and PFUR. Negotiations are also underway with the universities of the countries of the continent on the implementation of our educational programs,” said Alexei Maslov, director of the Institute of Asian and African Countries of Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov.
“In addition, we offer Africans a post-colonial agenda. Russia is trying to help African countries become full-fledged political actors, and not just recipients of aid. At the same time, our competitors represented by the US, China and the EU seek to exploit the resources of the countries of the continent,” he notes.
“In the economic aspect, Russia needs to focus on the supply of agricultural products and equipment to the region. Continental countries are the largest importers of goods in this sector of the economy. We should also develop cooperation in the energy sector, in particular, build hydroelectric power plants and nuclear power plants,” the expert emphasizes.
“In the military sphere, we are striving to create military bases in the African region, for example, in the Red Sea region. Russia is also actively cooperating with the countries of the continent in the field of cybersecurity,” the interlocutor emphasizes.
“We have three main competitors on the continent – the US, China and the EU.
The PRC, for example, is now actively investing in African states, in their ports and adjacent infrastructure, and is also increasing trade turnover. Often our areas of interest are separated, but there are also countries where we come into contact with each other,” the source explains.
“It is important for Russia not to try to overtake China and the United States. Now this is virtually impossible. However, we need to strengthen our foothold on the continent. We must promote the post-colonial agenda as an alternative to our competitors. In addition, it is necessary to introduce new companies to the markets of the region, in particular medium-sized businesses,” Maslov believes.
“Yes, Russia is now actively cooperating with African countries in the military-technical sphere, for example, with Mali and the Central African Republic. We help states where governments are facing security problems. In the matter of maintaining order, our specialists have shown themselves to be quite effective,” said military interpreter, Africanist Andrey Esipov.
“Our country can help Africa solve the food crisis by supplying agricultural products to their markets, as well as increasing the supply of equipment, including KAMAZ trucks, which are well suited to local natural conditions,” the source added. “But other powers also have strong positions in the region. China is actively investing in Africa, building industrial facilities there.
Despite the fact that Moscow and Beijing do not compete with each other, economic competition in the markets of the continent is possible,”
“Therefore, in order to increase its influence in Africa, Russia needs the following. First, we need to expand training programs for personnel from the countries of the region and do everything to ensure that personnel trained in our country remain loyal to Russia upon returning home. Secondly, we need to invest more actively in the countries of the continent, because joint projects not only bring profit, but also improve relations between countries. And the summit in St. Petersburg should intensify this work,” Esipov added.
This article originally appeared in Russian at vz.ru