Sochi, (New Ziana) – Russia is keen to partner Africa in its quest to attain the continent ‘s 2063 development agenda, a top diplomat said on Saturday.
Top Russian and African diplomats are gathered here for a two-day conference, under the auspices of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum, to map ways to deepen co-operation and jointly face off geopolitical challenges posed by the West.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova told the forum it was important for the two sides to combine efforts in order to successfully ward off the ongoing neo-colonial onslaught of the West on Africa and Moscow, as doing so individually left either exposed and vulnerable.
The West, alarmed by Russia’s economic recovery from the ashes of the disintegrated Soviet Union, and it’s growing geopolitical strength, has slapped the country with over 20 000 individual sanctions in a bid to contain it, under the guise of punishing it for attacking neighbouring Ukraine.
The sanctions include seizure of USD300 billion of Russia’s foreign reserves held in the West, and even more draconian, cutting the country off the swift global payment system to suffocate it’s economy.
Zakharova said Russia had managed to blunt the sanctions, and insulate it’s economy from their effects, and was ready to share experiences and offer support to Africa.
While much of Africa is not as deeply sanctioned by the West as Russia, the Russian diplomat said the net effect of the West’s exploitative grip on the economies of African countries equated to the 20 000 individual sanctions imposed on Moscow.
This, she said, included unfair pricing of Africa’s commodity exports, exploitative investment terms offered by the West, and disingenuous financial support from western-controlled agencies such the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“This (exploitation) is what the West has been doing to Africa, and other parts of the world for centuries, keeping countries under-developed and dependent,” Zakharova said.
“A lot of countries in Africa do not need financial aid from the IMF or World Bank as they are rich in terms of natural resources to live on,” she said.
She said Russia, which had withered the West’s sanctions, could help Africa similarly do so, and pursue an economic development path that was not only immune to western control, but also self-centred.
The continent is pursuing a collective development vision, dubbed agenda 2063, in which it hopes to lift much of its over one billion population out of poverty.
Zakharova said Russia could lend a helping hand to the continent, as this was mutually re-enforcing in the struggle against western exploitation.
A pertinent strategy in this, she said, was developing alternative global trade payment mechanisms that did not depend on western-controlled platforms such as swift, or currencies.
“Unfair sanctions are being imposed on many targeted countries, that is why we need an alternative trade payment system,” she said.
“The dollar (US greenback) has been weaponised, and no longer serves as a means of trade,” Zakharova added.
The Brics group, which Russia currently chairs, is exploring alternative global trade payment systems to lessen its members’ dependence on western currencies or financial mechanisms.
Partly in pursuit of this goal, Zakharova said Moscow was expanding its diplomatic and media footprints in Africa, whose future Russia considered bright if only it could shake off the West’s centuries-old colonial stranglehold.
“The potential of Africa serves the neocolonial interests of the West,” she said.
New Ziana
