Leaders of digital governance from as many as 23 countries gathered to discuss their experience and outlook on digitalization with Russian experts. The discussion was fueled by the E-Governance in Africa 2024 book and hub, jointly developed by Russian and African experts. The project will hopefully be a lasting partnership: activities are planned for as far ahead as 2026.
This year has also seen a true breakthrough in bringing more African students to Russia. As of early 2023, about 27,000 students from Africa chose Russian universities for their studies. This drastically outperforms the numbers of the late Soviet era, when only 15,000 students came to study in 1991/92.
In July 2023, in a bid to build a community of universities that train specialists for the natural resources sector, nine African nations (Ghana, Egypt, Zimbabwe, Angola, Mali, Namibia, Zambia, Nigeria, and South Africa) signed an agreement with St. Petersburg Mining University, the oldest technical university in the country. As a result, the Russian-African consortium of universities “Nedra” (“Suboil of Africa ”) was established in December, comprising more than 30 universities from across the continent.
Other efforts include training for some 20 African countries along military lines, part of the concluded bilateral Defense Agreements.
Students from Cameroon pose for a picture in a classroom at the Transbaikal State University in Chita, Russia. © Sputnik/Evgeny YepanchintsevRussian language increases its popularity In 2023, the Russian Ministry of Education has opened new Russian-language education centers in African countries, working jointly with more than ten Russian pedagogical universities. Centers and classes are currently operating in Cameroon, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Uganda, Mali, Zambia, Namibia, Nigeria, DRC, and Cote d’Ivoire.
Russian Houses launched by Rossotrudnichestvo to facilitate ties with Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Zambia, South Africa, the Republic of the Congo, and Sierra Leone have accompanied the country’s diplomatic efforts with a broad spectrum of cultural and educational activities throughout the year.
The popularity of the Russian language and preparatory courses is directly tied to the scholarships provided for foreign students who want to study at Russian universities. Rossotrudnichestvo’s press service reported that last year, the average competition to receive a scholarship was about five people per place, so in the 2023-24 academic year, the number of scholarships was doubled from 2,300 to 4,700. Guinea, Angola, Mali, the Republic of the Congo, Egypt, and Nigeria are among the countries to receive the biggest financial benefits.
A man is covered with a Russian flag as supporters of the Niger’s National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP) gather to demonstrate ouside the Niger and French airbases in Niamey. © AFPSignificant growth in decision-making and scientific expertise This has been a year in which academic interest in Africa spiked in Russia, and a year in which collaboration with Africa in some of the most important scientific fields has received renewed attention. Importantly, this was not limited to venues in Moscow or St. Petersburg. Instead, it was an outreach to African partners.
For instance, a team of Russian virologists assisted local specialists in Burkina Faso in deploying a mobile laboratory to screen cases of dengue fever when an epidemic hit the country. The assistance was not only about reporting as many cases as possible to fight the fever. It was more about local capacity-building, which was well received by the authorities. This, in turn, paved the way for experts from Russia being invited to the “Healthcare and Sovereignty” conference held in Ouagadougou, the country’s capital. More importantly, this positive experience facilitated the expansion of further engagement, with a comprehensive program to combat diseases approved by the Russian government. Lasting up to 2026, it received funding of 1.2 billion rubles (around $13 million).
For the two countries of the Sahel, Mali and Burkina Faso, Russia offered training in fundamental nuclear research, and it will help in raising broader awareness of the possibilities that nuclear power might offer to the goals of national development.
In Madagascar, an island nation adjacent to the other part of the vast continent, Russian graduates and expeditions can now build on the agreement that facilitates mutual research on the marine world, genetics, and climate change. Again, studies will be in equal partnership with the local University of Toamasina, so that they involve joint work and exchanges.
In May 2023, experts from the Center for African Studies at the HSE in Moscow released the comprehensive Africa 2023 Handbook, which sought to bridge the apparent gap in information for deliberate decision-making. The book, dispelling stereotypes, offers answers to pertinent questions that arise when assessing the risks of doing business in Africa. A practical guide to Russia’s Africa Action Plan, it has already become the handbook for every Russian decision-maker involved in Africa.
The 3rd Young Scientists Congress at the Sirius Park of Science and Art in Krasnodar region, Russia. © Sputnik/Evgeny BiyatovRussian grain bolsters Africa’s food security The first two ships with Russian grain for Somalia and Burkina Faso, a humanitarian response coming at no charge, arrived in early December. The countries each received 25,000 tons of grain. Building on the success, more grain will be shipped to the Central African Republic, Zimbabwe, Mali, and Eritrea by the year’s end.
As a continent with a growing population and increasing climate pressures, Africa seems to welcome Russia’s assistance in alleviating food insecurities in the most vulnerable countries. As a result, Russia has emerged as a reliable food security provider, capable of meeting growing needs. While Russia exported 11.5 million tons of grain to Africa in 2022, exports reached the 10 million-ton mark in the first six months of 2023.
But grain is only part of the equation. Chronic hunger, faced by 20% of Africa’s population, is in essence a consequence of a lack of infrastructure, rather than poor efficiency in production and imports failing to meet demand. To turn the tide of hunger in Africa, Russia has to play longer term role, banking on capacity-building. Aid must fall on the necessary infrastructure and qualified personnel equipped with the know-how of precision farming or selective breeding, with farming machinery and steady supplies of fertilizers. Russia must be ready for this level of engagement when 2024 knocks at our door.
Russia and Africa strengthen sports ties This year saw the comeback of the best Soviet traditions, when Russia’s football team met Cameroon and Kenya for friendly matches. This opened a new dimension for the country’s sports practice amid a tough international environment.
“Politics cannot put pressure on sport” is an important formula reaffirmed by the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA), and it essentially endorses what Russia has long stood for. As the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was recently exploring options for how to bridge the yawning gap between various countries on re-admitting Russian athletes to the Olympic Games, the stances expressed by Africa’s individual countries as well as through five of the continent’s Olympic Associations were instrumental in bringing forward the year’s final resolution that allowed neutral flags for Russian athletes at the 2024 Paris Games. African voices on the issue were unanimous, and when they mirrored a similar decision by the Olympic Council of Asia after a meeting in Mauritania’s Nouakchott, this resulted in the Global Majority supporting the move.
Russia’s Aleksei Miranchuk, right, and Kenya’s Erick Otieno struggle for a ball during the friendly soccer match between Russia and Kenya at Mardan Sports Complex, in Antalya, Turkey. © Sputnik/Mikhail ShapaevCultural relations grow closer For the fourth time in 2023, the choreography project led by Innopraktika School brought together talents from all around the world. This time, under the banner of ‘Global Values’, the Boris Eifman Dance Academy welcomed, among others, ten dancers from six African countries, notably Senegal, Mozambique, Burkina Faso, Uganda, Rwanda and Nigeria. Performing at the Russia – Africa Summit in St. Petersburg on the stage of the famous Alexandrinsky Theater, they shared their perception of the world’s most pressing challenges.
This year was also inaugural in the sense of Days of African Culture and Cinema, which were held for the first time and attracted much interest in Africa among Russians.
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This has been the year 2023 in Russia-Africa relations, though certainly the frames of this overview could not fit all the relevant issues. However, the events and trends mentioned above will continue to develop, bringing the sides closer together.
RT editorial commentary and responses.RT editorial commentary and responses.
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