World
Russia Feeds Africa
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
It all began in March 2023 with an ear-deafening applause during the inter-parliamentary conference under the theme ‘Russia-Africa in a Multipolar World’ that was held in Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin offered what was then referred to as ‘no-cost deliveries’ of grains to six African countries. This unique promise was consolidated and renewed during the second Russia-Africa summit held in St. Petersburg. Russian media, with its highest public-oriented reports and propaganda narratives, keeps on informing its public that Russia feeds Africa and its 1.4 population.
Under the auspices of the State Duma of the Russian Federal Assembly on March 20, President Vladimir Putin was the guest speaker at the plenary session. Putin based his arguments for building stronger comprehensive relations on the fact that Africa is increasingly becoming a continent of opportunities, its potential economic attractiveness and, what’s more, it possesses vast resources.
He stressed that “Russia is reliably fulfilling all its obligations pertaining to the supply of food, fertilisers, fuel and other products that are critically important to the countries of Africa, helping to ensure their food and energy security. We are ready to supply some of the resources to countries free of charge.”
Putin added: “By the way, let me note that at the same time, despite all the restrictions and limitations, Russian grain almost 12 million tonnes were sent from Russia to Africa. I would also like to add that Russia is ready to supply to the African countries in great need, at no expense.” (Applause.)
Russian Foreign Ministry understands the concern that its ‘African friends’ need food and has repetitively offered warm assurances for the ‘no-cost deliveries’ of grains to Africa. Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov, who has been driving the Russia-Africa relations for almost two decades since his appointment in 2004, has also indicated in his speeches free grains intended to feed Africa.
Lavrov, during a news conference following the 78th session of the UN General Assembly on September 23, indicated, over the questions relating Russia with Africa, that there were outcries about the Black Sea Initiative. “It took six months for the first shipment of 20,000 tonnes to get to Malawi and another three months for 34,000 tonnes to reach Kenya. Now we cannot send 34,000 tonnes to Nigeria. They are just rotting there,” he said in his remark to a media question in New York.
On October 9, Lavrov meeting with Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit, recalled that during the Russia-Africa summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared Moscow’s decision to “send a free large shipment of grain as humanitarian aid to six African countries that are on the World Food Program list.”
“These are the countries that are most in need of food. These supplies will be completed by the end of the year,” he said and added that Russia “has already been compensating” for the grain deliveries that reached Africa’s poorest countries that are on the list of the World Food Programme.
Quoting Russian Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev, Russian media Interfax News Agency in early October reported that Russian grain supplies to African countries would start within a month and a half. “We are now completing the work on all documents. I think they will go within one to 1.5 months,” Patrushev told the News Agency.
As reported, President Vladimir Putin said at the Russia-Africa forum in July that Russia was ready to supply from 25,000 to 50,000 tonnes of grain to several African countries free of charge in the coming months. He was referring to supplies to Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic, Eritrea, Mali, Somalia and Zimbabwe. Grain delivery will be free, according to the October 6th news report.
African Development Bank (AfDB) President Akinwumi Adesina, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, reiterated that “food aid cannot feed Africa,” stressing that the continent “does not need bowls in hand, but seeds in the ground, and mechanical harvesters to harvest bountiful food produced locally.”
“As far as I’m concerned, we shouldn’t be talking about food security in Africa more than five years from now. There’s no reason for it,” he said, adding: “We have the technology and the financing to do it at scale.”
According to the estimates of the 2022 Global Report on Food Crises, 140 million people in Africa face acute food insecurity. However, Africa would be able to overcome food insecurity within the next five years as the continent has enough financial and technological resources to address the issue, according to Akinwumi Adesina.
In practical terms, Russia is not feeding the entire Africa and its population which stands at 1.4 billion, but only six (6) African countries. Geography documents Africa as consisting of 54 African countries. This can also be confirmed by the African Union. With current developments, African leaders have to make a complete shift, at least change their paradigm by adopting new measures toward prioritising agriculture to feed its population.
At the Nairobi summit on Climate Change held in September 2023, primarily to review and systematize possible options for Africa to finance climate change, which invariably relates to agricultural production, African Union Commission head, Moussa Faki Mahamat, was straight to the point in his demand, on behalf of the 54-member states, that the international investment must be “massively scaled up to enable commitments to be turned into actions across the continent of Africa.”
Among most of the speakers at that Nairobi summit, Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki’s remarks seemingly carried different weighty significance. While concluding his talk at the gathering, he reminded the necessity for Africa to mobilize its own resources rather than extend hands for handouts that may aggravate the existing situation by inviting interference and corrupt practices, mobilizing inside resources will enable and motivate creativity at the level of the continent.
Nevertheless, Isaias Afwerki strongly urged Africans to back away from accepting donations. Rather, better to mobilize resources and get away from this dependency that will definitely compromise everything at the level of the continent.
It is always puzzling, that Africa has all the resources, arable lands and huge water resources. Yet, Africa is poor, the majority of the population is wallowing in abject poverty. Unbelievably low standards of living still persist and are widespread across Africa.
But the point here is that African leaders must get down to their tasks to avoid being always rebuked for leaving their ‘begging bowls’ at home when travelling abroad. It is rather necessary to broaden the engagement of external players in food production and to ensure food security within the context of the current geopolitical situation in the world.
In recent years, the People’s Republic of China has built increasingly stronger ties with African countries and is Africa’s largest trading partner. In recent years, the People’s Republic of China has built increasingly stronger ties with African countries and is Africa’s largest trading partner. However, China desires to shift its focus to agriculture and industrialization on the continent.
Chinese President Xi Jinping recently unveiled plans to build more manufacturing plants in Africa, ramp up food production there and equip thousands of Africans with vocational skills to support the continent’s agricultural modernization.
At the 15th BRICS summit – a platform hosted by South Africa last August with the participation of African leaders, Xi Jinping made a number of concrete proposals including (i) China will launch the Initiative on Supporting Africa’s Industrialization and (ii) China will launch the Plan for China Supporting Africa’s Agricultural Modernization.
A Harvard University study led by Professor Calestous Juma showed that Africa could feed itself by making the transition from importer to self-sufficiency. African agriculture is at a crossroads. And that, Africa has to focus on agricultural innovation, followed by industrialization, as its new engine for regional trade and prosperity.
According to the United Nations Economic Development Report, Africa is now at risk of being in debt once again, particularly in sub-Saharan African countries. Time and again, Wikipedia also reminds us that despite a wide range of natural resources and human capital, Africa is the least wealthy continent per capita and second-least wealthy by total wealth, ahead of Oceania.
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
