by: Andrea Spinelli Barrile | March 1, 2024
In his speech to the nation yesterday, Vladimir Putin also reserved a few words for the developments of Russian cooperation in Africa, not going into details but tracing some useful guidelines for understanding the direction of renewed Russian interest in the African continent.
In a first step, Putin focused on the Arab area of the African continent, and on the Middle East: “Russia has long-standing positive relations with the Arab states, which represent a distinct civilization that extends from North Africa to the Middle East and it is developing rapidly,” Putin said, raising the possibility of “expanding our cooperation”.
As for the rest of the African continent, Putin notes how “the Russia-Africa summits have become a real turning point.” The reference is to last year’s summit in St. Petersburg, much attended by African heads of state, following which Russian cooperation with numerous African countries has effectively strengthened in many sectors, from energy to food security to defense.
“The African continent is progressively asserting its interests and its right to authentic sovereignty. We sincerely support all these objectives,” Putin said, specifying that Moscow interacts “with partners on the basis of the principles of equality and respect for mutual interests” and has framed the future of the southern hemisphere “in the creation of a Great Eurasian Partnership , in linking integration procedures within the Eurasian Economic Union and in implementing China’s Belt and Road program.”
Furthermore, Putin asked “the government to increase funding for international programs in the field of promotion of the Russian language and our culture.”
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