Russia’s humanitarian Agency mulls plans to open offices in Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea

Russia’s humanitarian agency Rossotrudnichestvo, also known as “Russian House”, is planning to open offices in Burkina Faso and Guinea Equatorial amid growing presence of Moscow in the African continent.

Pavel Shevtsov, the deputy head of the agency told State-run news agency Sputnik about plans to set up non-State Russian Houses in the two southern African countries.

“We are most interested in being present in African countries: both in Burkina Faso and in Equatorial Guinea. We understand that our centers cannot appear there quickly, so now we and these countries will move towards opening non-state Russian Houses,” Shevtsov said.

The announcement came few days after the Russian Foreign ministry indicated that it will, before end of the year, open an Embassy in Burkina Faso. Other missions will be open next year in several other African nations including Guinea Equatorial.

Rossotrudnichestvo, currently present in 80 countries, is at the forefront of Russia’s humanitarian and cultural influence in the world.

The agency recently opened a Russian language and culture center in Mali. The center will promote language and cultural education and encourage the development of novel concepts, talents, and collaborative projects.

It also held in November a two-day Forum of Alumni of Soviet and Russian Universities in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, which brought together over 150 participants, mostly from African countries, to discuss the development of relations between Russian and foreign educational organizations, Sputnik reports.
In December 2022, Egypt hosted a similar event that brought together over 150 alumni from 15 countries in the region.