World
Media Debates as Russia Pushes into Africa
By Kester Kenn Klomegah
In an effort to get push its political and economic influence in Africa, Russia has begun identifying news outlets that could facilitate the distribution of its information products and contents (syndication of news reports) from Russian media organizations.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, this is the first significant step on media cooperation by official authorities to address the information gap between the two regions. The primary objectives are to promote its Russia’s image more positively, overturn the negative perceptions among the public and to counteract anti-Russian propaganda mostly by western and European media in Africa.
Russia seeks a new image in Africa. On the other hand, Russian media continues presenting Africa as a region of diseases, conflicts and dangerous for business. At least, Africa’s middle-class, approximately 380 million constitutes a huge consumer market, is more than Russia’s population of 150 million and almost the same population size of the United States.
Indisputably, Africa also needs an excellent image among the Russian public. Russian experts and academics have consistently called for forging media cooperation as an instrument for promoting business opportunities and building positive perception, and offering knowledge about post-Soviet achievements in Russia and developments in Africa.
In an emailed interview, Professor Irina Abramova, Director of the Institute for African Studies under the Russian Academy of Sciences, said in the eyes of the Russian political establishment and business community, Africa is still viewed as a continent of poverty, endless wars and epidemics, stuck in the pre-industrial stage of development, and surviving only thanks to international aid.
Meanwhile, there is a different Africa, she maintains, Africa with rapid economic growth, dynamic formation of democratic management systems, modern structures and institutions of a market economy, a major player in the market of natural and human resources, a key source of growth in global demands and profitable spheres of investment operations.
“The media should more actively inform Russians about the prospects for the development of the African continent, its history and culture. Unfortunately, the Russian man in the street does not know much about Africa,” the director explained.
“For Africans, so far Russia is associated with the Soviet Union, the majority of Africans still have very warm feelings towards Russia. In general, the Russian Federation in Africa, and Africa in the Russian Federation are very poorly represented in the media. It is necessary to organize a special media entirely dedicated to Russia-Africa,” Abramova said.
Honorary President of the Africa Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Editor-in-Chief of the Asia and Africa Today magazine, Professor Alexei Vasilyev, has also stressed that Russia and Africa have to raise media work so that people of both regions get to know much about each other.
“Measures are needed to enable us to better understand each other. Africa is different. As journalists, we have to report not only diseases, demonstrations and murders, but also about real achievements and successes (of the African continent),” he said.
TASS Director General, Sergei Mikhailov, noted that without African states it’s impossible to cultivate international economic ties, stable development of international ties, and to build a stable and cohesive system of international security. Thus, cooperation between media outlets has to be one of the most active areas of developing ties with Africa.
Reports show that TASS plans to actively develop cooperation with its colleagues in Africa and give Africans a chance to familiarize themselves with developments in the world and on the African continent, which is different from most Western media. The Russian news agency plans to significantly increase the number of its bureaus in Sub-Saharan Africa, Mikhailov informed at the panel session themed “Russian-African Relations: The Role of Media” held in Sochi.
“We hope this will contribute to improving mutual understanding between Russian and African peoples. We want the events in Africa and vital issues of its development to again become top news,” he added.
The Russian Foreign Ministry supports the plan by the TASS news agency to open new offices across Africa in 2020 and urges the agency to go ahead with widening its African network, according to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov. He further suggested Angola, Guinea, Tanzania and Madagascar among the potential host countries for future TASS offices.
Over the years, media and policy experts have noted that nearly 30 years after the Soviet, Russia has not encouraged African media from south of Sahara in the Russian Federation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has largely ignored African media, south of Sahara. South Africa, Morocco and Egypt (the Maghreb region) are closer in their relationship to Russia.
Information presented at the Sochi summit explicitly confirmed this observation. Some 300 news bureaus from 60 countries are operating in Russia, including 800 correspondents and 400 technical personnel, while Africa represented by just three bureaus: South Africa, Egypt and Morocco, the Deputy Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Information and Press Department, Artem Kozhin said at the panel discussion.
According to him, this extremely low representation of African media hardly meets the level of dynamically developing relations. “We invite all interested parties to open news bureaus and expand media cooperation with Russia,” Kozhin said.
Some are not ready to spend money by bringing Africa media to Russia. “We understand that getting to Moscow costs quite a bit of money, and this may well be too expensive for African newsrooms,” Alexei Volin, Russia’s Deputy Minister for Communications and Mass Media, said before making the pitch. He further emphasized that information cooperation was developing not the way it should be.
The ministry has put forward proposals on expanding cooperation with Africa, including exchanging information with Russia’s state mass media, training courses for African journalists and trips of Russian specialists to Africa for training personnel.
According to various reports by Roscongress, the organizer of the first Russia-Africa Summit held in October, Russian officials have expressed readiness to collaborate with African media and would be at the forefront to highlight post-Soviet economic and cultural reality and shape the African perception about Russia. Senior media professionals on the African side are highly qualified and have appreciable professional experience in their employment.
From Eurasia Review investigations, TASS is currently strengthening its foothold in Africa. For instance, in September it appointed Vitaly Makarchev as the head of Pretoria office in South Africa. Director General of the Maghreb Arab Press news agency Khalil Hachimi Idrissi and FAAPA Secretary General Mohamed Anis have held talks earlier during the year with TASS First Deputy Director General Mikhail Gusman. The talks focused on widening media cooperation in Maghreb region.
Russian diplomats have also discussed media cooperation with Executive Director of Cabo Verdean News Agency Infopress, Jacqueline Furtado Carvalho; General Manager of Agence Congolaise de Presse, Anasth Wilfrid Mbossa; General Manager of Ghana News Agency, Albert Kofi Owusu, and Chief-Editor of the Seychelles News Agency, Rassin Vannier.
General Manager of Ghana News Agency, Albert Kofi Owusu, told the New York Times that the proposal to distribute stories from TASS, the Russian state-controlled news service, to newspapers, websites and television stations in the West African region made sense, especially since his agency was already sharing Chinese state media reports. But, this has to be done within a framework agreement on cooperation for mutual benefits.
For decades, a number of foreign countries have been cooperating with African media and NGOs to push their strategic policy and business interests. For example, the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation has fixed China-Africa Press Exchange Centre in Shanghai to encourage and promote exchange and visits between Chinese and African media.
Last May, China hosted the fifth Forum on China-Africa Media Cooperation. A joint statement on further deepening exchanges and cooperation was adopted.
Similarly, the United States, European Union, and Asian States support African media enormously in their information and education activity, and with regular publications of economic and business reports to create public business awareness in Africa. They have adequately collaborated with African partners in attracting business to Africa.
Nevertheless, Moscow plans to boost its presence on the continent in the next four to five years. Aware of the common responsibility, Russia and Africa have to continue coordinating efforts at implementing the documents adopted at the summit since this meets the desires and aspirations of Russia and Africa.
As explicitly outlined in the joint declaration, both Russia and Africa have to begin pursuing the targeted goals such as:
*facilitate the people-to-people contacts between Russia and African States using the potential of non-governmental organizations and various fora, including the youth ones.
*encourage further exchanges, mutual learning and cooperation in culture and education.
*facilitate the opening of Russian and African mass media hubs in the respective territories of African States and the Russian Federation.
Ultimately, these could be achieved by building on the existing friendly ties, as well as on the rich experience of multifaceted and mutually beneficial cooperation that serves the collective interests between the Russia and Africa.
Report by Kester Kenn Klomegah, an independent researcher and freelance writer on Russia, Africa and BRICS. He is the author of the Geopolitical Handbook titled “Putin’s African Dream and The New Dawn: Challenges and Emerging Opportunities” devoted to the first Russia-Africa Summit 2019.
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
At the plenary session under the theme “Development Through Access to Global Markets” organised during the first International Transport and Logistics Forum held in St. Petersburg, both Russian and African speakers have acknowledged, in their high-quality presentations, the importance of fostering understanding of transport innovations, shifting investment and the possibility of addressing current infrastructure challenges for economic growth.
In promoting comprehensive cooperation in the transport and logistics sphere, Deputy Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Zverev, stressed that the African continent is one of the fastest-growing regions of the world, demonstrating an average GDP growth rate of 4.5% per year.
According to expert projections, by 2050, Africa’s population will reach 2.5 billion people. To ensure logistical links, it is necessary to build a clear and understandable dialogue with partners, working simultaneously at two levels: at the level of governments, through intergovernmental agreements, and at the level of co-business partnerships. Russian transport corridors guarantee the stability of supplies. Today, there are issues of food security, fertiliser supply and formation of new chains, and other emerging geopolitical challenges facing Africa.
As the guest/main speaker, Zverev explained that Russian companies such as FESCO, RZD, GLONASS and Avtodor are actively involved in this process. This is a unique experience sharing technology and infrastructure solutions in significant volumes. “And frankly, that’s an important image distinction of Russia: we’re not just exporting or selling something – we’re offering technologies and cooperation. Together with technologies, we provide training and prepare national personnel who will work on their transport infrastructure in the future,” asserted Zverev.
Minister of Energy and Infrastructure of the United Arab Emirates, Suhail Mohammed Al Mazrouei, spoke of his country’s decision to invest significant money in the development of its railway infrastructure, with work already underway to connect to Oman by rail and open up new opportunities for freight transportation to Africa and Asia.
“We continue to invest in the development of our country’s logistics network and alternative routes. Russia is an important exporter of raw materials, and development in its regions will contribute to economic growth across the globe. Central Asia is also emerging as a key player, and we are investing in the region’s infrastructure and connecting China to the global economy through Russia and the Middle East,” he said.
Minister Delegate for Maritime Economy of the Ministry of Maritime Economy, Fisheries, and Coastal Protection of the Togolese Republic, Kokou Edem Tengue, spoke of the importance of understanding the African perspective on changing maritime routes as the situation around the Suez Canal and the Strait of Hormuz creates new opportunities for West Africa.
The Port of Lomé, the largest container port in Sub-Saharan Africa, handles approximately 30 million tonnes of goods annually, and its importance for the region is difficult to overstate. “We are actively working with Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger; the Port of Lomé is a key logistics hub for the landlocked nations of the Sahel,” he said. “It should be noted that Africa relies on chemical fertilisers and grain produced in Russia. We believe that the Port of Lomé could be a part of new sea routes between Africa and Russia.”
In his speech, Minister of Transport of the United Republic of Tanzania, Makame Mnyaa Mbarawa, reported on the active modernisation of the Dar es Salaam port. Previously, the depth of the water was 9–12 meters; now it has increased to 12–15 meters. An increase in the number of operators operating in the port is planned. Thanks to these measures, cargo turnover increased significantly, and ship handling times decreased from 10 days to 2–3. This is an important achievement, after all, speed is a key factor for investors.
However, the port cannot function in isolation; it needs modern rail infrastructure. Tanzania’s government is leading the construction of a new railway to Kigoma, and then into Burundi and south, creating a reliable transportation artery. Dar es Salaam will become a gateway to Burundi, Rwanda, Malawi and Zambia, which depend on cargo flow through this port. Therefore, the development of the port and associated railway is of strategic importance in the region.
“In parallel, the modernisation of the TAZARA railway is going on – a historic artery that requires an upgrade. The private sector is actively involved in this work. After revitalisation, this line will become a key link between Dar es Salaam port and Zambia, he stated. The Government of Tanzania will make every effort to implement these projects and will work closely with the private sector. We invite Russian companies – both state and private – to participate in logistics projects and port infrastructure modernisation.”
As far as road safety in Niger is concerned, the country is facing various challenges that require finding ways to improve the situation, according to the Speaker from Niger, Abdurakhaman Amadou. Within the framework of the discussion, he also noted that an important step was to upgrade the car park and road network. As Niger has no access to the sea, the emphasis is on road traffic to ensure the country’s supply.
“We have access to the port of Lome in the Togolese Republic, which remains neutral towards us. However, the Caton port is closed for us, which created serious difficulties as 80% of our exports and imports passed through it. Recently, the situation has started to improve due to the construction of a railway by Nigeria, which will provide us with access to its ports,” Abdurakhaman informed.
In addition, diplomatic relations with Algeria have been restored after a long hiatus, which opens an exit to the Mediterranean. The conference of Islamic states confirmed the intention to build a grand railway linking Dakar and Djibouti across the entire continent from west to east. This railway will partially pass through Niger, which will be an important step in the development of the region’s transportation infrastructure.
President Vladimir Putin, in a message to participants, organisers, and attendees of the International Transport and Logistics Forum, says that Russia is ready to share its experience through joint science and technology programmes and, of course, by training specialists able to ensure the development of transport and logistics in the 21st century, using a new technological foundation. The Transport and Logistics forum was held for the first time on April 1-3 in St. Petersburg, the second-largest city in the Russian Federation.
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
The Arab Republic of Egypt, a country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and the southwest corner of Asia, has a highly strategic location and attracts multifaceted interests of foreign players. For decades, Russia has established diplomatic relations with Egypt and has consistently sustained diverse ties with this country. It is no secret that Russia’s lust for the region is primarily due to the strategic importance of the Mediterranean Sea for investment and economic cooperation with the Maghreb region.
Determined to strengthen, particularly, economic cooperation, Russian President Vladimir Putin has maintained regular contacts with his colleague, President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, mostly discussing both bilateral cooperation and broader regional developments. The current world’s geopolitical development, for instance, the United States-Israeli war on Iran in the Middle East, constitutes one theme both leaders frequently review, attempting to find long-term solutions.
On April 2, Putin met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emigration, and Egyptian Expatriates of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Badr Abdelatty, in the Kremlin – the seat of Russia’s presidency. In attendance during the official talks on the Russian side were Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, while Egypt was represented by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Russian Federation Hamdy Shaaban. Ultimately, there is no need to overstate the importance of this meeting.
Russia’s footprints are expanding in Egypt, highlighting the growing industrial investment and the strengthening of bilateral manufacturing ties by undertaking projects to ensure energy security. At the same time, maintaining regular dialogue remains very important for both leaders.
Putin, speaking with the three-member delegation in the Kremlin, underlined the fact that there are many promising initiatives underway, many of which are already being implemented. He has previously spoken in detail about the construction of a nuclear power plant and the construction of an industrial zone, and over ten major Russian companies have expressed interest in participating in this project.
Nuclear Plants in El-Dabaa, Egypt
The construction of nuclear plants in the city of El-Dabaa, about 320 kilometres northwest of Cairo, the capital of Egypt. It is the first nuclear power plant in Egypt, and will have four VVER-1200 reactors, making Egypt the only country in the region to have a Generation III+ reactor. On November 19, 2015, Egypt and Russia signed an initial agreement, under which Russia agreed to build and finance Egypt’s first nuclear power plant. These are now being carried out, not as a charity project, but with a loan of $28 billion. According to reports, Russia will finance 85% as a state loan of $25 billion, and Egypt will provide the remaining 15% in the form of instalments. The Russian loan has a repayment period of 22 years, with an annual interest rate of 3%.
At the meeting, Putin also raised the construction of an industrial zone in Egypt. There are many appealing and related opportunities in this, regarding having an industrial zone to be located on the banks of the Suez Canal. The industrial zone is also entering a new phase, as Russian auto-manufacturing enterprises are advancing distinctive plans to expand local vehicle production, reinforcing the country’s role as a regional manufacturing hub. The move reflects broader economic linkages between Russia and Africa, particularly in industrial development and supply chain integration.
Conveying Greetings and Reviewing the Middle East Situation
Naturally, the situation in the region remains a shared concern, according to Putin, and further hope that the ongoing conflict will be promptly resolved. “As you know, President Trump also addressed this issue yesterday. Let me reiterate that we are prepared to make every effort to help stabilise the situation and, as they say in such cases, return it to normal,” he stressed during the meeting. In this context, it is particularly important to know Egypt’s assessment as a key country in the Middle East.
Putin reminded the delegation of another Russia-Africa summit, which is planned for October 2026. With high hopes that Egypt will be represented by a strong, high-level delegation. Should the Egyptian President’s schedule allow, he would, of course, ahead of the summit, be very pleased to welcome him to Moscow. Jointly chaired by Vladimir Putin and Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the first Russia-Africa summit, an important acute phase of the developments with Africa, under the motto of ‘For Peace, Security and Development’, was held for the first time in October 2019, in Sochi, a city located on the Black Sea coast. The idea to hold a Russia-Africa forum was initiated by President Putin at the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit in Johannesburg in July 2018.
The head of the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, as traditionally expected, conveyed greetings from President El-Sisi to the Russian president and handed over a written message. President el-Sisi places great value on all aspects of the bilateral cooperation, and is extremely grateful for constructive collaboration on the El Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant, which represents a key milestone in the partnership. Despite the challenges, it is evident that the project is moving forward and will be completed by 2028.
In summary, as Egypt and Russia are reliable and time-tested partners, Putin plans to promote strategic projects, particularly in trade, economics, energy, and food security. With over 107 million inhabitants, Egypt is the most populous country in the Arab world, the third-most populous country in Africa, and the 15th-most populous in the world.
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.
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