The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum held their Russia-Africa session , June 3, with high-level representations from the Foreign Affairs and Economic Cooperation portfolios, also the rail and chemical industries. Indicative of how the Russians are approaching Africa was that the opening presentation was given—not by a banker, or even a Russian—but by the Prime Minister of perhaps the poorest country on the continent, the Central African Republic, Firmin Ngrébada, who could only thank Russia for their help on the terrorism front, and now ask for the same approach on development. Also making presentations were Rwanda’s Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente, and Egypt’s Minister of International Cooperation Rania Almashat. Speaking at the end were the bankers and UN bureaucrats.
Speaking second was Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, also now the Special Presidential Representative for the Middle East and Africa. Bogdanov conveyed greetings to the conference from President Vladimir Putin and highlighted the areas of pandemic, terror and drug trafficking as primary concerns. Since the Russia-Africa Summit and Economic Forum in Sochi in 2019, Russia has institutionalized African relations, he said, and is looking forward to the next conference, in 2022, this one to be held in Africa. This is all guided by a “win-win” approach to the continent.
Among the success stories of Russian involvement in Africa—most clearly seen in Egypt, where major rail and nuclear projects are beginning or are now in progress—presented by the the heads of (rail infrastructure manufacturer) Transmash Holdings and Russia Railways, was a much more sobering presentation by Dmitry Konyaev, Chairman of URALCHEM, who presented on agriculture. Africa’s growth rate presents a huge challenge, he said, where—although one could get three, or even four harvests a year—the lack of infrastructure, especially fertilizer (which his company has already doubled) was a major roadblock. The company is looking at increasing localized production in Africa, which Konyaev said may require “heavy investment” up front—including unrelated infrastructure, even basics like training of farmers. This is not “charity work,” he said, but also asked for governmental assistance, in the form of loan guarantees and tax policy.
