Russia Plans to Increase Investment in Africa
The government of the Russian Federation plans to raise its investment portfolio in Africa from its present $20 billion in 2018 to something significantly higher. This was made known by the Foreign Minister of Russia, Sergey Lavrov while addressing a group of journalists from Africa recently. It could be recalled that Mr. Lavrov had at the last annual general meeting of the African Export and Import Bank which took place in Moscow in June, hinted that Russia is working towards expanding and deepening its business and investment relationship with Africa.
Mr. Lavrov noted that Russia had made investments in such sectors as mining, energy and railway sectors and highlighting a nuclear power plant and industrial park developed by Russia in Egypt. “We are moving toward broadening our relationship, especially in our cooperation on security and peace making,” he said, describing Africa as Russia’s important partner in the global struggle for truth and fairness
Mr. Lavrov said that Russia was committed to promoting Africa with a view to providing African solutions to African problems and urged the international community to provide its support by helping to incentivize and develop programmes that help African businesses.
In his comments, Prof. Benedict Oramah, President of Afreximbank, said that 2019 marked a major point for the Bank as it looked to the future of Africa’s trade and finance and sought to build bridges with global powers. “As we gather in this historic city of Moscow, we will explore how we can shape the future of trade and how we can transform our continent,” said Prof. Oramah. “Our collective endeavours will impact the economic future and well-being of Africans for generations to come.”
Business experts have in recent times called on African businesses to explore the possibilities of expanding their portfolio beyond the traditional west and east focus by exploring to establish relationships with Russia and other countries in eastern Europe to enable them take advantage of all that multilateralism can offer even in this age of trade nationalism.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.