/Pogled.info/ The write-off of multibillion-dollar debts to Africa, in most cases absolutely bad, is primarily a gesture of goodwill towards African countries with which Russia is interested in developing relations. This opinion was shared by Boris Dolgov, a leading researcher at the Center for Arabic and Islamic Studies of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. In this case, we are talking about a mutually beneficial strategic partnership.
Earlier, speaking at the Russia-Africa summit, President Vladimir Putin announced the total amount of canceled debt of African countries to Russia. “To date, the total amount of debt we have written off is $23 billion,” the Russian leader said. In addition, according to Putin, Moscow plans to allocate 90 million dollars to Africa.
African debts to modern Russia were formed during their cooperation with the USSR. Most of the debt fell on Algeria, Angola, Libya, as well as Mozambique and Ethiopia.
Dmitry Novikov, First Deputy Chairman of the Committee on International Relations of the State Duma, linked the decision to write off $23 billion with the fact that Moscow will continue to use this amount to participate in investment projects in Africa. Back in 2018, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted that over 15 years, Russia had written off $20 billion to African countries, of which 90% were bad debts.
Boris Dolgov from the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences noted that write-offs in favor of Africa were also practiced in the Soviet period, when the USSR was interested not only in economic, but also in military-political support for a continent that was fighting against Western colonialism . This fully suited the long-term strategic interests of the Soviet Union.
The generous gestures of modern Russia, according to the expert, should in no case be taken as a sign of weakness. And it’s not just about the uncollectibility of these debts.
“At the current forum, there were confirmations that Russia’s policy is aimed not only at following the interests of Africa, but also at ensuring that African countries get out of the negative influence of the West and the related predatory use of African countries’ natural resources , keeping them in the role of neo-colonial subjects,” the interlocutor notes.
Russia’s actions, according to Dolgov, will encourage at least some African countries to reconsider their policy towards the West, which practices a neo-colonial approach to relations with Africa. “Russia is definitely discussing specific projects that give greater access to African resources that Western countries are used to pumping out using colonial methods,” the expert said.
In addition to the economic component, given the current severe confrontation between the West and Russia, it is extremely important for Moscow to strengthen its military-political presence on the African continent.
However, the internal instability in many African countries is forcing the Russian side to develop more and more cooperation not only with individual governments of the Black Continent, but also with the African Union, an influential supranational structure, which, as the President of Russia previously indicated, may become a full member of the G-20. Many issues, as Dolgov noted, often make more sense to discuss with one body rather than with many countries.
At the same time, according to the expert, Russia has a clear strategy for advancing its own interests on the African continent and a reasonable understanding of how to implement it. Therefore, the write-offs and investments announced by the Russian president have every chance of paying off.
It was noted earlier that Russian-African cooperation, which was actively developing in the Soviet era, is becoming relevant again today.
In particular, the supply of wheat from Russia to Africa in the first half of 2023, as announced by the Minister of Agriculture Dmitry Patrushev, has increased to a record 9 million tons. And the director of AvtoVAZ Maxim Sokolov said that the company will consider the possibility of organizing the assembly of Lada cars in Algeria.
Translation: V. Sergeev
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