Russia Rebuilding its Relations with Africa

This weekend, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov plans to visit Rwanda for a discussion with foreign minister Louise Mushikiwabo and President Paul Kagame on counter-terrorism and economic development. Earlier in March, Lavrov visited Africa on a five-nation tour with the purposes of building trade as well as economic, scientific, and humanitarian ties.

These efforts indicate that Russia is on its way to rebuilding its relations with its Africa, particularly with countries such as Angola, Mozambique, Namibia, and Zimbabwe that it has shared historical relationships with in the past. During the Cold War, the Soviet Union actively tried to establish its influence in the content, particularly in the Horn of Africa. Hot wars were waged in Algeria, Ethiopia, Somalia, Angola, Mozambique, and other nations, many of which were fought for independence from western colonizers.

The Russian pivot towards Africa indicates that the nation is attempting to catch up with China and the United States in their efforts to aid in the development of the continent. Around 2012, the Obama administration reshaped its policy toward Africa by releasing objectives to spur economic development in the region of sub-Saharan Africa, improve the African energy sector, increase trade between Africa and the US, and build leadership skills among young Africans.

Between 2008 and 2015, more than four billion dollars in US military aid went to this region for the purpose of combating terrorism and piracy. In March, Rex Tillerson embarked on a week-long trip encompassing nations such as Chad, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, and Nigeria as the first senior officer to travel to Africa since President Trump taking office. His primary objective seemed to be the establishment of regional security.

Some see the increased US presence in Africa as a means of countering Chinese influence. China, too, has taken an increasing amount of interest in the African continent in recent years. As of this year, Chinese investment in Africa is estimated to equal about 40 billion dollars, while US investment remains ahead at 58 billion dollars.

China may have taken a heightened interest in Africa not only to exert its political influence, but due to the continent’s abundance of natural resources. Chinese investments in Africa focus primarily on the mining and oil industries, but work to develop lagging infrastructure areas such as utilities, transportation, and telecommunications. China is also expanding its trade with Africa, which is already twice as much as that between the US and Africa and is projected to double by 2020.

Russia, therefore, may be attempting to keep pace with US and China. Beginning in 2014, Russia began to invite African delegations into Moscow. Now, African countries such as Uganda have become leading customers of relatively inexpensive Russian arms, with about 40% of total African arms imports coming from Russian merchants. The plentiful natural gas deposits in sub-Saharan Africa have drawn the attention of Russian energy companies such as Gazprom.

Like China and the US, Russia may be attempting to project its geopolitical influence into the continent and counteract Western influence. In late May, for instance, Russia began sending military aid into the Central African Republic, which has received aid from France and the US for years.

A struggle for dominance is likely to ensue in Africa as Russia, China, and Western countries such as the US and those in the European Union attempt to capture its markets and access its vast resources. Russia will continue to expand its role as Africa’s security partner and deepen its relationship with nations that held close ties to the Soviet Union during the Cold War Era. Clearly, as the African continent undergoes economic and political development, its nations will continue to become more and more influential within the international community.

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