From left: Director of the Institute for African Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences Irina Abramova; African Union Chairman, President of the Union of the Comoros Azali Assoumani; Russian President Vladimir Putin; Chairman of the Board of Directors at African Export-Import Bank Benedict Okey Oramah; New Development Bank President Dilma Rousseff, and head of the Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill attend a session of the Russia-Africa Summit and Economic and Humanitarian Forum in St Petersburg, Russia, July 27, 2023
MOSCOW announced today that it is writing off nearly $20 billion (£15.5bn) of debt to African countries and that Russia will provide hard-pressed nations on the continent with free grain.
Russian President Vladimir Putin told the first day of the Russia-Africa forum in St Petersburg that an agreement had been reached to cancel $3.5bn (£2.7bn) of Angola’s debt that arose as a result of the purchase of weapons from the USSR, plus $5bn (£3.8bn) from Ethiopia, $5.7bn (£4.43bn) from Algeria and $4.5bn (£3.5bn) from Libya.
The Russian president also announced that his country would provide grain directly to six poor African countries following Russia’s withdrawal from a deal that allowed Black Sea exports, a decision that drew strong condemnation from the United States and its allies.
As the Alliance of Sahel States and southern African nations advance pan-African goals, the African Union must listen and learn rather than parroting the Western line on these positive developments, writes ROGER McKENZIE
