World
Meet Mikhail Mishustin, Russia’s Prime Minister
By Kester Kenn Klomegah
Plucked from obscurity and little known in wide national political scene, the Head of the Federal Tax Service, Mikhail Mishustin, to become the new Prime Minister was a complete surprise, but not the first time in Russia’s politics.
President Vladimir Putin was pulled up to the top political field, in a similar way, by Boris Yeltsin. In August 1999, Putin was appointed one of three First Deputy Prime Ministers, and later on, was appointed acting Prime Minister of the Government of the Russian Federation by Yeltsin.
Yeltsin announced that he wanted to see Putin as his successor. Readily, Putin agreed to run for the presidency and later approved by State Duma with 233 votes in favour (vs. 84 against, 17 abstained), while a simple majority of 226 was required, making him Russia’s fifth PM in fewer than eighteen months.
On his appointment, few expected Putin, virtually unknown to the general public, to last any longer than his predecessors. He was initially regarded as a Yeltsin loyalist, like other prime ministers of Boris Yeltsin, Putin did not choose ministers himself, his cabinet was determined by the presidential administration.
Now, with a new chapter opening, Mikhail Mishustin eventually replaces Dmitry Medvedev who served as Prime Minister until mid-January 2020. Putin and Medvedev worked together and even switched positions between President and Prime Minister. This switch was termed by many in the media as “Rokirovka”, the Russian term for the chess move “casting” and later Medvedev said he himself would be ready to perform “practical work in the government” with under Putin.
On January 15, in his address to the Federal Assembly, Putin explicitly explained: “Our society is clearly calling for change. People want development, where they live and work, that is, in cities, districts, villages and all across the nation. The pace of change must be expedited every year and produce tangible results in attaining worthy living standards that would be clearly perceived by the people. And, I repeat, they must be actively involved in this process.”
Meeting with the Cabinet thereafter, Putin said: “For my part, I also want to thank you for everything that has been done so far in our joint work. I am satisfied with the results of your work. Of course, not everything was accomplished, but things never work out in full.” He thanked the government and added that Medvedev served as President and for almost eight years now he has been the Prime Minister, which is probably the longest stint in this post in Russia’s recent history.
Further, Putin held a separate working meeting with Head of the Federal Taxation Service Mikhail Mishustin and proposed him to take the post of Prime Minister. Having received his consent, the President submitted the candidacy of Mikhail Mishustin for consideration to the State Duma.
On January 16, the State Duma (lower house) endorsed Mishustin, as the new Prime Minister of the Russian Federation. As many as 383 lawmakers supported Putin’s choice, none were against, and 41 parliamentarians abstained. “Colleagues, the decision has been taken. We have given consent to the appointment of Mishustin Mikhail Vladimirovich as Prime Minister by the president of the Russian Federation,” Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said, summing up the results of the vote.
President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree appointing Mikhail Mishustin as the country’s Prime Minister. “In accordance with Article 83(a) of the Russian Constitution, Mikhail Vladimirovich Mishustin is appointed as Russia’s Prime Minister,” says the decree published on the Kremlin’s website. The decree comes into force on the day of its signing.
Mikhail Mishustin was born on March 3, 1966 in Moscow to a father of Russian-Jewish origin and a mother of Russian origin. He completed postgraduate studies in 1992. He is married and has three sons. His interest is in sport, playing ice hockey. He is a member of the supervisory board of HC CSKA Moscow.
In 2003, he defended a thesis, headlined “Mechanism of state fiscal management in Russia” and received a PhD in economics. In 2010, he received a doctoral degree in economics at the Academy of National Economy under the Government of the Russian Federation (currently Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration).
Since graduation, he has worked in several enterprises. In February 2009, he joined the personnel reserve of the President of Russia. In 2010, Mikhail Mishustin was appointed as the Head of the Federal Tax Service (FTS). From 2011-2018, he was a member of the Presidential Council for Financial Market Development.
During this period, the tax service was criticized for its overly strict approach to business, and Mishustin rejected this accusation, citing a significant reduction in the number of inspections. So, with the arrival of Mishustin in 2010, the Federal tax service changed its approach to the organization of control events, focusing on analytical work.
As a result, the number of on-site tax audits has sharply decreased, while their efficiency has increased. If earlier every tenth taxpayer was checked, in 2018, the tax authorities checked only one small business company out of 4,000. The number of inspections of large and medium-sized businesses has also decreased significantly.
“This candidacy comes absolutely unexpectedly, but that does not mean he is a figure who brings about repulsion. Perhaps even the contrary. Not all fiscal heads are likeable and agreeable. In my view, Mishustin is largely seen by the public as agreeable,” Federation Council Deputy Speaker Ilyas Umakhanov told Interfax News Agency.
“This is yet more proof that our president relies on professionals at this difficult, critical moment when the country needs a qualitative leap, primarily in the economic sphere. This is down to new technology, digitalization; this is precisely where Mishustin made a mark as the Russian tax chief. He has huge experience under his belt, which has been embedded into the system,” added Umakhanov.
First Deputy Head of the Federation Council Committee for the Budget and Financial Markets Sergei Ryabukhin, for his part, described Mishustin as a very successful public administrator. “A top professional, a very big statesman and individual who has achieved great successes within the system of public administration in the tax and financial sphere. I think his is a good candidacy,” according to Ryabukhin.
According to experts, the surprise shake-up could have been triggered by launching a reset of the Russian political system and the upcoming power shift. Political Analyst Konstantin Kalachev believes that Putin’s decision to pick Mishustin as the new premier is related to his political neutrality, and he is also known in the business and corporate community. However, the new head of the government is unlikely to become Putin’s successor.
All officials interviewed by Vedomosti have described the choice as a surprise but a good one. Taxation is the only sector that has demonstrated a breakthrough in Russia’s state administration. The Russian Tax Service is one of the best in the world in terms of collecting taxes and developing technologies, an official linked to the financial system said. Mishustin is well-known in the government as a good administrator and his service was a lifesaver during the crisis, according to several media reports.
Mishustin is tasked with fulfilling Putin’s economic program, namely the National Projects to the tune of 26 trillion rubles ($424 billion) up to 2024. The program’s slow implementation and weak economic growth were among the reasons Medvedev’s government came under fire, the paper says. Mishustin’s major achievement is turning the tax-collecting agency into a service tool, said Partner at Taxology Alexei Artyukh.
He reformed the administration of major taxpayers and businesses can coordinate deals in advance in exchange for the Federal Tax Service’s access to companies’ accounting systems. If these approaches are extended to other services, this would result in huge progress, Alexei Artyukh said.
Kommersant, a local Russian newspaper, reported that Russia would remain as a strong presidential republic, and all the upcoming changes are linked to the the upcoming presidential election in 2024. Unreservedly, Mishustin stated during a plenary session of the State Duma that Russia has sufficient funds to achieve all goals set by President Vladimir Putin. Implementation of all the social obligations the president enumerated in his State of the Nation Address would require $64.8 billion.
Russia, with the largest territory in the world, has a wide natural resource base, including major deposits of timber, petroleum, natural gas, coal, ores and other mineral resources that can be used to support the expected economic development and raise the overall living standards of the population.
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
In an interview, Senator Mushahid Hussain, President of Pakistan-Africa Institute for Development and Research (PAIDR), explicitly offers a few important insights into the US-Israeli war on Iran and its implications for BRICS+ and Africa. Here are the interview excerpts:
What’s your interpretation of the US-Israel war on Iran, in the context of developments in the Middle East region?
The US-Israel illegal and unwarranted war on Iran was spearheaded by [Benjamin] Netanyahu (Prime Minister of Israel) and actively supported by [Donald] Trump (President of USA) as a Joint Operation with three fundamental goals: a) decimate the Islamic Revolutionary Regime; b) reshape the Middle East as part of Zionism’s ‘Greater Israel’ Project; c) preclude any possibility of establishing a Palestinian State with Jerusalem as its capital.
What is your assessment of Iran’s joining BRICS+ in 2025, China’s and Russia’s roles as members of this association, in this US-Israel war with Iran?
China and Russia have played, by and large, a low-key diplomatic role in supporting Iran but without any active political initiatives. BRICS is divided from within, as India is keen to curry favour with the USA and avoids close association with BRICS since the time that Trump attacked BRICS last year. But China & Russia are clear political beneficiaries of the war as American prestige is at an all-time low, having got entangled in an unwinnable war, resulting in weakening of the US ‘sole superpower’ image.
As an Asian expert, how would you characterise Africa’s reactions? And do you think that reactions were objectively authentic, basing perspectives broadly on Arab and Middle East contributions to Africa’s development?
Africa’s reactions to the war are primarily through the prism of the Global South, viewing Iran as resisting American-Israeli hegemonic designs, as, for example, manifested in two examples: South Africa’s rejection of American pressures to wean South Africa away from its support for Iran. Plus, Somalia joined Pakistan and China in supporting the Russian resolution in the UN Security Council seeking an immediate ceasefire and negotiations to halt the War, despite strident Western/US opposition to the Russian resolution.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Director-General (DG) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has said the global trading system is experiencing the worst disruptions in the past 80 years.
The trade body chief warned about the consequences as the WTO ministerial conference opened Thursday in Cameroon.
“The world order and the multilateral system we know has irrevocably changed,” she said, adding: “We cannot deny the scale of the problems confronting the world today.”
The organisation’s 166 members appear deeply divided as trade ministers gather in the Cameroonian capital for the WTO’s top conference, amid global economic turmoil linked to the Middle East war.
Over four days in Yaounde, WTO members will try to revitalise an institution weakened by geopolitical tensions, stalled negotiations, and rising protectionism — against the backdrop of the war in the Middle East, which poses a serious threat to international trade.
“The scale of the problems confronting the world today, even before the conflict in the Gulf, destabilised trade in energy, fertiliser and food,” Mrs Okonjo-Iweala said.
“National governments and international institutions alike have been struggling to navigate rising geopolitical tensions, intensifying climate pressures, and rapid technological change.
“Accompanying these shifts has been an increasingly loud questioning of multilateralism,” she added.
Mrs Okonjo-Iweala said these disruptions were just one symptom of broader upheavals shaking the international order created after World War II to prevent a repeat of the disasters of the first half of the 20th century.
“It feels appropriate that at the moment when the world is in turmoil with conflict in the Middle East, Sudan, Ukraine, and elsewhere, at this time of great disruption and uncertainty, we have gathered in Africa to discuss the road ahead for the global trading system,” she said.
“Africa is the continent of the future.”
WTO ministerial conferences are typically held every two years. The current edition in Yaounde is the second to be held in Africa, after Nairobi (Kenya) in 2015.
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
The United States-Israeli war in the Islamic Republic of Iran is shattering Africa’s economic landscape and leaving emotional devastation. Europe is fractured, but completely. France has taken the initiative to create a platform in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, located in East Africa. More than 2,500 corporate executives from across the continent, spanning 55 African countries, would take up the challenge during a two-day in-depth discussion on the existential threat of the Middle East conflict. Participating business leaders’ engagement over geopolitics, finding new paths to massive new investment, would be the central theme, while expressing commitment to forge new mechanisms for economic cooperation between Africa and France. The high-ranking guests from regional economic blocs are expected to join, teaming up to share practical thoughts and build awareness beyond the current Middle East conflicts and their impact on Europe and Africa.
The common goal: new perspectives on innovation, new business directions in the context of geopolitical threats. Based on Africa’s untapped natural resources and human capital, communicating clearly with business executives and political leaders, high-ranking speakers plan to dissect and design the future. Strengthening Africa’s and France’s economic cooperation forms the irreversible target and will ultimately be incorporated into the conference declaration. Cautious reflection indicated that the relationship between Africa and France is still pragmatic, as both agreed to renew and thoroughly review the existing economic potentials at the two-day conference in Nairobi.
Experts and Conference coordinators told this article’s author that the French government and business circles involved in trade and economic cooperation with African countries were invited to participate, lay out their comprehensive business architecture. Africa and France will focus on the developing manufacturing and extractive industries, setting up special economic zones, energy and transport infrastructure, digitalisation, and the agro-industrial complex—education and training in the sphere of entrepreneurship.
France has already worked out a financial mechanism to support joint business across Africa, while Africa’s financial institutions pledge their commitment, plan corporate strategies and support for joint investments in the localisation of production chains in Africa, which covers both agricultural and mineral processing.
President William Ruto and French President Emmanuel Macron both acknowledged that the strategic pathway should focus on unlocking Africa’s potential, driving sustainable industrialisation, and targeting economic growth across Africa. Harnessing the untapped resources and utilising the huge human resources is France’s priority in consolidating the current bilateral engagement and collaboration.
In a statement, President Ruto underlined tthat he summit reflects a shared commitment to strengthening bilateral ties and deepening multilateral cooperation to advance global goals. The agenda will focus on key areas, including reform of the international financial architecture, energy transition, green industrialisation, the blue economy and connectivity, artificial intelligence, sustainable agriculture, and health. It will spotlight the role of young entrepreneurs, civil society, and international organisations in shaping solutions to pressing global and regional challenges. The May summit is described as part of the renewal of relations between France and Africa, emphasising genuine partnerships and shared progress.
The agenda will focus on key areas, including reform of the international financial architecture, energy transition, green industrialisation, the blue economy and connectivity, artificial intelligence, sustainable agriculture, and health.
In addition to the May summit by France, the European Union countries are increasingly strong economic partners for many African countries. It therefore beholds African leaders and business people to necessarily explore available possibilities and windows that have been opened. The EU has unveiled €300 billion ($340 billion) alternative to China’s Belt and Road initiative — an investment programme the bloc claims will create links, not dependencies.
In an official document, it said the European Commission is examining:
– Support AfCFTA implementation and the green transition;
– Improve trade and investment climate between the EU and Africa;
– Reinforce high-level public-private dialogue;
– Enhance long-term dialogue structures between the EU and African Business Associations;
– Unlock new business and investment opportunities, including in the areas of manufacturing and agro processing, as well as regional and continental value chains development.
It is further included in the joint communication of the European Commission (EC) entitled “Toward a Comprehensive Strategy with Africa”, which sets forth what the EU plans with Africa. The Joint EU-Africa Strategy takes into cognisance the most common interests such as climate change, global security and the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Just as China, India and the United States, so also France, and other European countries are exploring emerging opportunities offered by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which provides a unique and valuable access to an integrated African market of 1.5 billion people. In practical reality, it aims at creating a continental market for goods and services, with free movement of business people and investments in Africa.
Looking ahead, France intends to capitalise on Africa’s most transformative economic sectors and make strategic moves by collaborating, as a mutual partnership remains dynamic and adaptable. Despite growing geopolitical tensions, France’s approach and its long-standing ties still offer an alternative partnership model that many African leaders find very appealing.
The challenge for the future will be to ensure these ties evolve in ways that serve Africa’s development needs, while navigating the increasingly complex global politics. As Africa is indiscriminately open for business, on May 11-12, 2026, African and French Heads of State and Government meet together to chart a new path for innovation, growth, and cooperation. Kenya will hold this investment summit for France to position Africa as a key partner in global innovation and economic development while strengthening bilateral ties with France and advancing Africa’s collective agenda on the international stage.
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