• Moscow says it will reopen embassies in Niger and Sierra Leone and establish new missions in Liberia, Togo, The Gambia, and the Union of the Comoros.
• However, Russian officials insist the new missions aren’t an indication the country views Africa as an arena for geopolitical rivalry.

In a move to strengthen its relations with Africa, Russia has announced plans to establish and resume diplomatic missions in seven African states.

The move highlights the Russian Federation’s re-engagement with the continent and the cementing of economic, political and security ties with the global South.

According to Tatiana Dovgalenko, the director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s newly established Department of Partnership with Africa, the country will reopen embassies in Niger and Sierra Leone and establish new missions in Liberia, Togo, The Gambia, and the Union of the Comoros.

However, Russian officials have warned that the new missions are not an indication that the country views Africa as an arena for geopolitical rivalry.

This came as Evgeny Primakov, the head of the Russian Foreign Affairs Agency Russotrudnichestvo, told African journalists at a virtual international media conference on May 22 that his country would implement more joint projects with African countries.

Speaking with New Eastern Outlook Media, Dovgalenko said that her department’s priority is implementing the agreements made between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his African counterparts during the Russia-Africa summits, as well as bringing joint activities within the partnership framework.

Dovgalenko stated that her country would establish a new embassy in South Sudan.

“The expansion of the network of Russian diplomatic missions is a confirmation of our return to Africa and large-scale plans to develop relations with the countries of the continent. In 2024, after a break of more than 30 years, the Russian embassies in Burkina Faso and Equatorial Guinea were reopened.

“This year the diplomatic missions of our country in Niger and Sierra Leone will resume their activities, and an embassy in South Sudan will be opened for the first time. Plans for the near future include the establishment of diplomatic missions in The Gambia, Liberia, the Union of the Comoros and Togo,” Dovgalenko said.

She further added that they are planning to institutionalise relations with the East African Community (EAC), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS).

Dovgalenko said African countries have embraced Russia because the government regards the continent as a space for mutually beneficial cooperation.

“Our obvious advantage is that we do not tell Africans whom to be friends with or which partners to choose. We respect their sovereignty and national interests not in words, but in deeds.
“The pursuit of genuine sovereignty, justice and a more democratic world order, free from diktat and double standards, based on respect for the norms of international law in their entirety, the equality of states, the consideration of each people’s interests and the recognition of their distinctive culture and traditions is a constant of Russian-African relations, “ she said.

As of 2024, Russian exports of agricultural products to African countries increased by almost 20%, exceeding $7 billion and covering 45 countries in the continent.

Dovgalenko said Russia is highly interested in improving the efficiency of the agricultural sector in African countries and their food self-sufficiency.

“Russia is an experienced player in the global energy market. We can provide Africa with comprehensive solutions to strengthen its own energy base: the construction and modernisation of hydroelectric power plants, the development of nuclear energy, as well as the use of natural gas as an environmentally friendly fuel. The creation of processing facilities, including the production of fertilisers, is a priority that meets the interests of the states in the region.”

“The African continent is striving for a technological breakthrough, and its young population demands modern IT solutions and affordable technological products. Our country is ready to offer competitive technologies, from telecommunications to high-tech industries, at competitive prices and without political conditions,” she emphasised.

She said Russian companies have been operating in various sectors of the African economy for a long time. This included industries such as oil and gas, nuclear energy, chemicals, transport engineering, geological exploration, mining, agriculture and fishing.

According to Dovgalenko, developing necessary financial and settlement infrastructure, which includes a reliable system of mutual payments in order to ensure the security of trade, economic, and investments is an important component of the cooperation between Russia and Africa.

She adds that since the continent gained independence, Russia has provided professional training to hundreds of thousands of Africans, ranging from doctors, technicians, engineers, officers, and teachers.

“Today, over 32,000 African students study at our universities, of which more than 8,000 are on a budget basis. Since 2022, the quota of scholarships for Africa has more than doubled to encompass 4,800 places. The most popular areas of study are medicine, economics, energy, international relations and construction. Specialities in the field of agriculture are increasingly in demand.”

“The international humanitarian project ‘Russian Teacher Abroad’ is being implemented jointly with the national ministries of education of partner countries and is aimed at promoting the Russian language and Russian education (in 2025 it will be implemented in Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Libya, Cameroon, Ghana),” the Russian official revealed.

As for healthcare, Dovgalenko said African countries have expressed interest in cooperation on fighting non-communicable and infectious diseases, training and advanced training of medical specialists, and the supply of Russian medicines and medical products. They also sought to expand the coverage of medical care by utilising mobile diagnostic complexes developed and used in Russia, as well as digital technologies in medicine.

Addressing journalists from 14 African countries on May 22, Primakov elaborated on Russia’s engagement in Africa. He stated that Russia aimed to promote the principles of sovereign equality among nations and mutually beneficial partnerships globally, to establish stability and security.

Journalists from South Africa, Tanzania, Egypt, Tunisia, Niger, Zambia, Côte d’Ivoire, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, the Central African Republic, and Ethiopia attended the virtual media briefing.

“During the Soviet era, our country actively developed relations with African states, helped in various spheres and supported in the fight against neocolonialism. Russia continues to engage on a wide range of issues. Rossotrudnichestvo is represented on the continent by state and partner Russian houses and within its competence implements a large number of humanitarian projects,” Primakov said.

“You can often hear that Russia has turned its face to the East, which is wrong in itself. Russia never stood its back neither to the East nor to the West. She was always open to cooperating with everyone.”