World
Filipe Nyusi: Using Regional Military Force the Best Way to Enforce Peace and Stability in Africa
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
Top United States officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Chief Lloyd Austin, joined several key leaders from Africa to discuss Peace, Security and Governance issues at the US-Africa Leaders’ Summit.
The Biden administration’s three-day gathering brought leaders from across the African continent to discuss ways to strengthen ties and promote shared priorities with the United States. A total of 49 African heads of state and the chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, were guests at this high-level meeting.
The continent’s leaders often feel leading economies have given them short shrift but remain crucial to global powers because of its rapidly growing population, significant natural resources and the sizable voting bloc in the United Nations. The summit aimed at reviving US relations with the African continent, suspended by former President Donald Trump, at a time when China and Russia are advancing their pawns in the region.
Hosting leaders and senior officials in a not-so-subtle pitch to convince guests that the US offers a better option to African partners. “We want to understand what’s what’s really important to you,” said U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
“We want to make sure that we are doing the things to develop and empower your security forces and help you work on your security architecture in ways that you think benefit you and that certainly will promote regional stability,” he explained.
In his contribution, African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat said the United States is providing bilateral support to a number of African countries, including Niger, Mozambique, Somalia and Chad. But, he said, that African armies are still under-equipped. “No one is listening to the cries of Africa when it comes to the extension of this scourge,” he said.
During the discussion, Somalia’s President, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, spoke about how the terrorist group, al-Shabaab, controlled large portions of Somalia’s rural areas. “Shabaab, or terrorists anywhere they are, cannot be defeated militarily only,” he said.
At the panel discussions, Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi was very outspoken and shared valuable experiences with the audience about the use of well-constituted regional military force for enforcing peace and security in Mozambique.
The Joint Forces of the Southern African Development Community are keeping peace in northern Mozambique. The rules, standards and policies, provision of assistance, as well as the legal instruments and practices, are based on the protocols of building and security stipulated by the African Union. It, therefore, falls within the framework of peace and security requirements of the African Union.
Now, Mozambique has relative peace and stability after the 16-member Southern African Development Community (SADC) finally approved the deployment of a joint military force with the primary responsibility of ensuring peace and stability and for restoring normalcy in the Cabo Delgado province, northern Mozambique.
He told the panellists that there has been “remarkable progress” as businesses have restarted and displaced people began returning to Cabo Delgado. He, therefore, urged adopting ‘African solutions to African problems’ on peace and security, saying further that in their case, it was, above all, necessary to establish the motivation for terrorism in Mozambique in order to respond to the situation in Cabo Delgado.
The Mozambican president said that the partnership with the forces of SADC and Rwanda was an example that “African problems must first seek solutions within the continent itself,” and it was vital to “educate young people” so that “they might not find in poverty a reason” to join the terrorists.
With authority, he called for more external assistance to improve the capacity of African partners to advance regional stability and security and reduce the threat from terrorist groups across Africa.
At the Peace, Security and Governance Forum, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin, US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and the President of Niger Mohamed Bazoum, Filipe Nyusi highlighted the support of Rwandan and SADC forces, saying that Mozambique has created an environment where there is the involvement of the region.
According to the US State Department, the US has reaffirmed its strategic partnership for the promotion of peace, stability and global health security across Africa.
Blinken highlighted the impact of the United States strategy to prevent conflict and promote stability as a complement to government and civil society efforts in northern Mozambique.
“We look forward to our collaboration when Mozambique becomes a member of the UN Security Council in January, but we are also strong partners – strong partners to help Mozambique build stability, strong partners to build global health together, addressing food insecurity, and we welcome that partnership. There is much to discuss tonight,” Blinken told Nyusi, quoted on the website.
The Joint Forces of the Southern African Development Community is part of a regional defence pact which allows military intervention to prevent the spread of conflict. That terrorism is a global threat, a problem that requires joint regional collective intervention, he explained.
The rules, standards and policies, provision of assistance, as well as the legal instruments and practices, are based on the protocols of building and security stipulated by the African Union. It, therefore, falls within the framework of peace and security requirements of the African Union.
What is referred to as Islamic attacks and insurgency caused havoc and devastation in Cabo Delgado province of Mozambique. The insurgency began in 2017 and left an unimaginable negative effect on the settlements of the civilian population and on business and industry operations.
The Joint Forces of the Southern African Development Community are keeping peace in northern Mozambique. It involves troops from Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community Military Mission (SAMIM). Rwanda offered 1,000 in July 2021. South Africa has the largest contingent of around 1,500 troops. External countries are enormously helping to stabilize the situation in Mozambique. Its former colonizer Portugal and the United States both sent special forces to train local troops.
With an approximate population of 30 million, Mozambique is endowed with rich and extensive natural resources. It is a member of the 16-member regional bloc, which collectively promotes sustainable and socio-economic development, forges deeper cooperation and integration, and ensures good governance as well as peace and security so that the region emerges as a competitive and effective player in the southern region, in Africa and the world.
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
