World
African Union’s G20 Membership: Effective Collaboration Towards Africa’s Economic Growth
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
In this interview, Dr Pradeep S. Mehta, Secretary General of the Jaipur-based Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS) International, with centres in Accra, Nairobi, Lusaka, Geneva, Washington DC, Hanoi and New Delhi, one of the largest public policy research and advocacy groups in India, discusses African continent’s integration into the Group of Twenty (G20) and other global governance systems. While appreciating the fact that the African Union (AU) became a full member of the Group of Twenty (G20) under India’s presidency in September 2023, Pradeep further underlined that Africa has taken strategic steps to explore new opportunities and to shape policies that can drive sustainable development and foster economic growth in the continent.
The African Union becoming a permanent member of G20 has many implications but there is the necessity for adopting a strategic alignment, capacity building, and stronger collaboration among AU members and with other developing countries. By this particularly for realising the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), African countries have to attempt exploring opportunities within the context of complexities and contradictions of the emerging multipolar world. Here are the interview excerpts:
Are there any significant differences between the European Union and the African Union, in terms of, say aspirations and achievements?
The European Union (EU) is a legally binding treaty among 27 well-to-do countries in Europe, which was called the Treaty of Rome now amended by the Lisbon Treaty, while The African Union (AU) is also a legal treaty among 55 countries in Africa which are mainly poor or developing under the Constitutive Act of Africa. AU is being guided by the EU’s success, but it is only an aspiration of African countries with little political maturity and/or financial resources.
EU is governed by a Council of the 27 heads of state which rotates its Presidency every six months. In the case of AU, the sheer number will not allow short periods of Presidency so it is more of a consensus-based approach. The EU is serviced by the well-endowed European Commission while the AU is serviced by the moderately endowed AU Commission.
Do you think AU’s membership in G20, for instance, could be of any economic benefit in this emerging multipolar world?
By joining the G20, it is joining an exclusive club, which goes beyond economics. In Africa, currently, South Africa is the only member which is also hosting the next Summit in 2025. Even the EU is a single member though not all its members are members of the G20. The membership is akin to countries seeking membership in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) although this requires many sacrifices. Staying out is more disadvantageous than staying in.
What are your uptakes as one of the speakers at the high-level round table titled “Mainstreaming the African Union into the G20”, organised by CUTS International and the Vivekananda International Foundation in New Delhi, India?
AU member states need to get their act together and their coalition is already deepening due to the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). They need capacity building to appreciate and use the benefits of both the AfCFTA and the G20. Together they will be a bigger force to garner concessions from the West, such as debt forgiveness. This issue was raised strongly at the current G20 discussions in Brazil.
What role do you suggest India can further play in supporting Africa’s development within the context of geopolitical rivalries and competition?
India can play the role of an honest broker providing capacity building and technical assistance to African countries. It has been running such development programmes for a few decades, and quite successfully without falling into any ditch where there could be conflicts.
Increasingly, rich countries are tying up with India to provide technical assistance to poor African countries, such as in the sphere of trilateral development projects. These are more cost effective and India can bring in appropriate technology. CUTS International has executed many Trilateral Development Projects in Africa and Asia which has resulted in the advancement of local capacities hugely. This has been done consistently in the area of Competition and Consumer Protection regimes in nearly 25 countries in Africa.
And as a staunch member of BRICS, an informal association, how would you comparatively assess India’s current investment and business engagement with Africa?
These two issues are not related to each other. However, India is providing technical assistance in a big way other than capacity building, medical help and educational opportunities to Africans in a big way. Even armed forces staff from African countries are being trained in India.
How destructive are the ‘rules-based order’ and Western ‘hegemony’ on the continent of Africa? Is this a challenge in pursuit of sustainable development or do African leaders have to look at themselves in the mirror?
The rules-based order is now changing with say climate change norms being forced on poor countries that can ill afford the high standards of carbon management. In overall, the attitude of the rich countries continues to be condescending rather be cooperative. The huge funding required to deal with the harms of climate change and biodiversity is nowhere in sight despite hortatory messages. The money has to come from the rich world which is responsible for the mess in Africa.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Accessing the US Dollar in the East Africa region has now been made easier with the expansion of the stablecoin settlement infrastructure of SCRYPT.
This development enables banks, payment providers and corporate treasury teams to move value into and out of the continent in real time.
Businesses paying international suppliers frequently have to convert local currency into USD before purchasing stablecoins for settlement, incurring FX conversions and spreads before any payment is made.
But SCRYPT is eliminating this intermediate conversion by enabling direct settlement corridors for local African currencies into stablecoins.
This development allows businesses to move from local currency to stablecoin settlement in a single licensed transaction, without first sourcing rationed bank dollars, as stablecoins are increasingly becoming settlement infrastructure rather than an investment product.
The expansion adds settlement support across four African currencies: the Kenyan shilling (KES), Tanzanian shilling (TZS), Rwandan franc (RWF) and Ugandan shilling (UGX). Each corridor is delivered through the same full-stack infrastructure our clients already use for trading, custody and treasury operations.
Speaking on this, the chief executive of SCRYPT, Norman Wooding, said, “Across Africa, stablecoin adoption is driven by economic need, not speculation.
“Businesses here are not chasing yield; they are trying to pay suppliers and manage treasury without losing margin to a banking system that rations dollars. Licensed, fair-rate dollar access is the clearest proof of what this infrastructure is for.”
Also commenting, the Managing Director of Markets & Trading at SCRYPT, Mr Gabriel Titopoulos, said, “Until now, reaching stablecoins from local African currencies meant buying scarce dollars and incurring several layers of conversion costs.
“SCRYPT removes this friction. Firms and payment providers can now settle straight from local currencies through live corridors, with local partners.”
World
African Graduates Association Promoting Multifaceted Initiatives With Russian Educational Institutions
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
In preparations for the third Russia-Africa Summit, scheduled for late October 2026, Dr Francois Ngan, deputy chairman of the Union of Associations of African Graduates of Soviet and Russian Universities, during an official working visit, has held a consultative meeting with Professor Vladimir Filippov, the President of the Russian University of Peoples’ Friendship (RUDN), and former Minister of Higher Education of Russia, Chairman of the National Commission for Accreditation of Higher Education.
RUDN is an educational institution established in 1960, primarily to provide higher education to Third World students. It has now become a popular multidisciplinary spot for many students, especially from developing countries. The university offers various academic programmes and has research infrastructure that comprises laboratories and interdisciplinary centres. The university is named after the former Congolese leader, Patrice Lumumba.
Dr Francois Ngan and Professor Filippov discussed the importance of the Graduates Association as a continental platform dedicated to strengthening unity, cooperation, and promoting shared progress among African graduates who studied in the former Soviet Union and in the Russian Federation. They also reviewed multifaceted initiatives that could bring together alumni associations from across Africa, whose members obtained education and professional training, and cultural experiences in Soviet and Russian institutions of higher learning.
Professor Filippov expressed optimism in addressing emerging challenges as a result of shifting geopolitical changes, emphasised strategic cooperation in the educational sphere with Africa, in general, and with the Republic of Cameroon, in particular, and further about the integration of African students during their studies in the Russian Federation.
The meeting also touched on academic and scientific work, the possibility of rewriting a scientific thesis, and the official organisation of transferring versions translated into six languages for the library of RUDN. Significant questions relating to Russia’s educational opportunities, collaborations and partnerships involving African countries were thoroughly discussed.
The Union of Associations of African Graduates of Soviet and Russian Universities was created under one continental umbrella to promote friendship, for professional networking, to engage in cultural exchange, and with particular emphasis on forging strategic cooperation between Africa and Russia.
World
Russia to Support Industrial Growth, Technological Advancement and Supply Chain Resilience across Africa
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
With the heightening of geopolitical rivalry and competition, a new Russia-Africa working group has emerged as a significant institutional mechanism and plans to focus on facilitating and monitoring strategic investments, industrialisation, and infrastructural development—the Strategic Action Plan 2023-2026—that was outlined during the second Russia-Africa summit, in St.Petersburg, the second largest city in the Russian Federation.
While substantial progress has, largely, lagged on the multidimensional economic front with Africa primarily due to its internal difficulties and the complexity of relations with its former Soviet neighbours, Russian officials believe there still remains huge untapped potential in strengthening bilateral cooperation. As planned, President Vladimir Putin has already signed an executive order that directs Moscow to host the forthcoming third Russia-Africa summit in October 2026.
On June 30, a regular meeting of the Business Council on Africa was held under the chairmanship of the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry. It was dedicated to issues of trade, economic and investment cooperation with Africa. The group discussed the current state and prospects for the implementation of policy initiatives with an emphasis on assisting the countries of the continent, strengthening their economic, energy, technological and food sovereignty, as well as training specialists for Africa.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has reiterated that Russia-Africa relations primarily depend on an understanding of the importance of collective action based on the principles of equality, mutual respect and resolving common tasks. In the past few years, Russia-Africa cooperation has been noticeably strengthening. “We are deepening political dialogues, developing bilateral contacts with African countries, promoting cordial cooperation between ministries and departments, and expanding humanitarian exchanges. We are also continuing the structural diversification of trade partnerships and economic dimensions.”
“Next on the agenda is the launch of diplomatic missions in The Gambia, Liberia, Togo, and the Union of the Comoros,” Lavrov said at a meeting of the Business Council under the Russian foreign minister. Lavrov noted that Russian embassies began operating in three other African countries in 2025: Niger, Sierra Leone, and South Sudan. A new Department for Partnership with Africa was also established. According to the top diplomat, “expanding Russia’s diplomatic presence on the continent contributes to developing relations.”
There are already 45 Russian embassies operating in Africa. The Russian foreign minister noted that Moscow is quickly rebuilding its presence in African countries, which sharply declined during the collapse of the Soviet Union. “There will be literally four or five countries left where we still need to establish full-fledged embassies, and then, we will have 100 per cent coverage of the entire African continent with our diplomatic presence,” Lavrov emphasised.
After the first summit in October 2019, the Foreign Ministry also created the Secretariat of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum. Its main tasks include controlling the roadmap to Africa’s multidimensional cooperation and guiding potential Russian investors to the continent. This also underscored the priority and post-Soviet solidarity Russia currently attaches to its policy towards Africa, within the growing framework of the emerging new architecture of multipolarity in the Global South.
In an interview in June 2026, the director of the Department of Partnership with Africa at the Foreign Ministry, Tatyana Dovgalenko, shared a few insights in the lead-up to the third summit. Furthermore, Dovgalenko explained that Russia would move away from security to concentrate more on economic issues, especially to team up with African colleagues to streamline mechanisms for implementing projects that will ensure food security and agriculture, and help Africa in installing processing facilities to support its self-sufficiency. She also emphasised energy and vital infrastructures, and the third direction was to simultaneously work more coherently with sub-regional organisations.
Over the past few years, bilateral relations have been increasing. There are positive dynamics in trade turnover, estimated at $30 billion. Steps are being taken to build payment systems, preferably in national currencies, while Russia looks to open four more diplomatic offices, bringing the total to 48 across Africa. Russia is currently training 37,000 African students, but only approximately 1/3 on state scholarships in Russia’s educational institutions. “We are ready to share valuable experiences of building a sovereign development model with African partners to achieve self-reliant economic growth based on their own resources and capabilities. Russia aims at creating processing capabilities and localising production, and provides access to advanced technological solutions,” underlined Dovgalenko in her interview with New Eastern Outlook.
For African countries that have endured difficult decades on the path to political independence, it is now important to take full control over the untapped resources, direct income and revenue toward stimulating the national economic sector, rather than paying for the well-being of the Western “golden billion” during this changing geopolitical era, according to Dovgalenko.
According to reports, the forthcoming Russia-Africa summit will have an economic agenda, including the digital economy, technology, artificial intelligence, healthcare, investment, and settlements in global trade. Of course, the agenda will also cover Africa’s political aspects. But if African friends bring along any specific ideas, Russia will give them serious attention. In addition, with continuity and consistency, pay increased attention to expanding ties with Africa’s regional integration associations.
Going forward, the focus will be on translating strong trade relations into deeper investment partnerships, fostering technology collaboration, strengthening industrial linkages and contributing towards the shared objectives set by the leadership of both African countries and Russia. At the third summit, the above-mentioned specific initiatives will be further designed. In this regard, the key document, the new action plan for the next three-year period (2027-2029), is intended to reflect dynamic realities in the future relations of Russia and Africa
