First Independent Mena Newspaper
Ukraine is ready for a “long-term” fight to “revive” Kiev’s relations with Africa and reduce Moscow’s “grip” on this continent, which is based on “coercion, corruption and fear,” Ukraine’s top diplomat Dmytro Kouleba declared in an interview last week. After decades of oblivion, Ukrainian officials have now vowed to invest significant political capital to deepen […]
Former Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl has argued that Françafrique is over after France lost Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger where leaders have turned to Russia, China and Turkey. Kneissl, who had been in office from 2017 to 2019, said African countries have more opportunities on the continent and can choose whom to cooperate with. […]
Mali’s military leader and interim president, Assimi Goita, had a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday about the escalating situation in Niger, amid growing concerns in the West that Africa’s latest coup undermines its influence while presenting an opportunity to expand Russia’s presence in the West African region. The Kremlin said Mali’s […]
Defense Minister of the Central African Republic (CAR) Claude Rameaux Bireau is set to visit Russia next week amid talks between the two countries for Moscow to set up a military base in the African country now very close to Russian President Vladimir Putin. CAR ambassador to Russia Leon Dodonu-Punagaza told the media about the […]
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that his government is actively working on preparing trade agreements with four Arab countries, with Morocco being one of the key partners. The announcement was made during a Cabinet meeting, reported the Russian news agency, TASS. In his address, Putin said his nation is focused on establishing free trade zones […]
Elected Niger President Mohamed Bazoum has called on “the US government and the entire international community to help us restore our constitutional order,” as the newly installed junta announced they were scrapping military pacts with France and warned to respond ‘immediately’ to any ‘aggression’ by the West Africa bloc. In a column entitled ‘My Country […]
Russian president Vladimir Putin expressed, on Friday, at the 2nd Russia-Africa Summit, the wish to see Russian-Moroccan relations further strengthen and continue the momentum launched during the visit of King Mohammed VI to Russia in 2016. The Russian president commended, in a speech, King Mohammed VI, expressing the wish to see bilateral relations evolve and […]
Global fertilizer suppliers have benefited from high fertilizer prices in 2022-23 but, by and large, they have undermined production, contributed to high food prices, and exacerbated food insecurity, according to experts. Global fertilizer suppliers made incredibly high profits in 2022/23 on the back of price spikes attributed to the Russia-Ukraine war, as the profits of […]
Only 16 African heads of state have arrived in St. Petersburg to attend the second Russia-Africa Summit — fewer than half of the 43 who came to the first summit in 2019 — a striking disappointment for the Kremlin despite its recent flurry of diplomatic efforts in the continent. Russian President Vladimir Putin is meeting […]
When African leaders meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg in late July for a summit, their discussions will likely be overshadowed by Russia’s pull-out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative that could badly damage Moscow’s relations with its African partners. Billed as strengthening cooperation in peace, security, and development, the Russia-Africa Summit […]