World
Russia Readies to Boost Cooperation with Mozambique
By Kester Kenn Klomegah
President Vladimir Putin has held an extended meeting with the visiting Mozambican leader Filipe Nyusi in the Kremlin where both discussed bilateral cooperation between the two countries. The leaders further discussed issues related to the current international and regional issues.
The visit, first for Mozambican leader after the collapse of the Soviet empire, was part of the consolidation and deepening of the existing relations of friendship and cooperation between Mozambique and Russia. Mozambique is a natural, time-tested and long-standing partner, the Soviet Union played an important role in Mozambique.
Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established on June 25, 1975, on the day Mozambique declared its independence. The Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of Mozambique was signed in 1977.
“On the commercial and economic side our relations are still modest,” Putin said after signing the accords. “But we have good prospects.” Putin noted in his talks that there are issues related to the situation in the region, where a number of acute problems are being addressed by various countries.
Following the talks, Putin and Nyusi witnessed the exchange of documents signed during the official visit of the President of Mozambique to Russia. Russian companies, among them are Rosneft, UAZ, GAZ, Kamaz, Inter Rao – Export and Gazprombank, have an active interest in cooperation with Mozambican partners.
Mozambique has been looking to develop natural gas reserves that could make the African state a major exporter of liquified natural gas. As far back in 2015, the Russian oil and gas company Rosneft and US energy giant ExxonMobil received licenses for the development of three gas-rich deepwater blocks off the coast of Mozambique. The state-owned Qatar Petroleum company and Italy’s Eni oil and gas company later joined the project.
In October 2018, these companies signed concession contracts for hydrocarbon exploration and production with the government of Mozambique. Rosneft’s share in the projects is 20 percent. In July 2019, a mining and processing complex was launched in the city of Pebane, a province of Zambezia, for the exploitation, Primary treatment, and export of titanium and zirconium products from Tazetta Resources, which is part of the East Minerals international holding, controlled by a number of Russian investors.
Reports said that Mozambique’s National Hydrocarbon Company (ENH) was looking for more than US$2 billion to meet its project commitments. During the Moscow visit, Filipe Nyusi also held discussions, with representatives of Russian bank Gazprombank, which was dedicated to financing oil and gas sector projects in Mozambique.
“We have natural resources and we expect Russian investments to use those resources for the good of the people,” Nyusi said in an interview with local Russian news agency, published on the eve of his meeting with Putin.
There has been an increasing interest of the Russian business community in building a partnership with Mozambique, which matches Maputo’s intention to attract Russian investment and technical assistance.
Russia and Mozambique have re-affirmed commitment to promoting trade and economic cooperation, and believed that joint efforts in geological exploration and mineral extraction as well as telecommunications, energy and agriculture could possibly be the main priorities in the renewed bilateral relationship.
On August 21, the Russian-Mozambique Business Forum was held at the World Trade Center as part of the working visit of the President Nyusi and his delegation to Moscow.
The forum, aimed at reviewing and identifying potential spheres for strengthening bilateral economic cooperation between Russia and Mozambique, was organized jointly by the Embassy of Mozambique and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation with the support of the Moscow International Trade Center.
Vice President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Vladimir Padalko, noted that the African continent as a whole and Mozambique, in particular, are gaining increasing importance in the system of foreign economic relations of and are strategic interest to the Russian Federation.
The two countries currently maintain trade and economic relations. The Russian-Mozambique intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation was established in March 2018. Its first meeting was held in Maputo in April 2018. The volume of trade between Russia and Mozambique in 2018 amounted to US$115 million. In the first half of 2019, trade increased by 32 percent compared to the same period in 2018.
The speech of the leader was, indeed, reassuring and offered hope. Mozambique’s economy is alive and well, judging by the volume of investments currently flowing in various sectors from many foreign sources, according to Filipe Nyusi, and added he would do his best to pursue the best strategies to improve the business environment in Mozambique, with the help of the business sector of the Russian Federation.
As a unique strategy, Moscow seems to prioritize and focus primarily on the southern African region. Mozambican leader’s visit followed that of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Angola and the Congo to meet President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin since that beginning of 2019.
In October 2018, for instance, Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Russian Federation signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at an investment forum that aimed at creating a unified regional platform to share with potential Russian businesses, information on investment opportunities and the investment climate in the SADC Region.
The MoU envisages strengthening ties in a broad range of fields and shows that SADC remains as one of Russia’s key partners in Africa. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Executive Secretary of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Stergomena Lawrence Tax, signed for the Russian Federation and SADC, respectively.
On her part, the SADC Executive Secretary noted that “Russia and Africa have been partners for many years, and expressed a desire to achieve a new level in their relations.” She said it was encouraging that, in recent times, Russia had been repositioning itself to be a major partner with Southern Africa.
In an interview with the Hommes d’Afrique magazine, Minister Lavrov stressed: “At present, Russia’s relations with African countries are progressing both on a bilateral basis and along the line of African regional organizations, primarily the African Union and the Southern African Development Community.” Mozambique, among 16 southern African countries, is a member of the SADC. Russia has a long history of bilateral engagements with the Southern African countries, which constitute the Southern African Development Community.
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
For the first time in its history, the World Public Summit will be held on the African continent. On 29–30 July 2026, Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, will host the World Public Summit. Africa — “A New World: Africa in Shaping a Shared Future.”
The Summit is organised by the World Peoples Assembly in cooperation with African partner organisations. It will bring together leaders of public diplomacy, representatives of international intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations, academics, experts, representatives of the education and cultural sectors, youth leaders, socially responsible businesses, media professionals, and civil society institutions from across Africa and other regions of the world.
The World Public Summit. Africa continues the work initiated during the First World Public Assembly “A New World of Conscious Unity,” held in Moscow in September 2025, and serves as one of the key milestones in preparation for the Second World Public Assembly “A New World: Values That Unite,” which will take place in Moscow on 18–19 September 2026.
Today, Africa is emerging as one of the principal centres of global development. Rapid demographic growth, expanding entrepreneurship, strengthening regional integration, rich cultural heritage, and the growing role of civil society institutions make the continent an increasingly important contributor to the future architecture of international cooperation.
The Summit will focus on issues of genuine sovereignty and sustainable development, public diplomacy, preservation of cultural and historical heritage, international cooperation in education and science, youth engagement, innovation-driven development, creative industries, and the formation of new partnerships among countries and peoples.
The main business programme of the Summit will take place on 30 July 2026 at the headquarters of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) in Addis Ababa. Holding the Summit at UNECA highlights its pan-African dimension and creates opportunities for broad international dialogue on humanitarian cooperation and public diplomacy.
The programme will include plenary sessions, strategic dialogues, and expert panels dedicated to values-based development, education, culture, youth leadership, innovation, and international cooperation.
Participation has already been confirmed by Professor Saidou Madougou, Director of the Department of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation of the African Union; Rita Bissoonauth, Director of the UNESCO Liaison Office to the African Union and UNECA in Addis Ababa; Zuzana Schwidrowski, Director of the Macroeconomics, Finance and Governance Division of UNECA, as well as ministers, leaders of public organisations, and representatives of the business community from a number of African countries.
On the same day, the ADWA Victory Memorial Museum—Ethiopia’s national memorial complex dedicated to the Victory of Adwa and an important centre for preserving the historical memory of the Ethiopian people—will host the award ceremony of the regional stage of the V International Competition “Leader of Public Diplomacy”, followed by a large-scale cultural programme.
One of the key outcomes of the Summit will be the adoption of the African Communiqué, reflecting proposals and recommendations aimed at strengthening humanitarian, educational, cultural, and public cooperation between African countries and other regions of the world.
The outcomes, initiatives, and recommendations were developed during the World Public Summit. Africa will be presented at the Second World Public Assembly “A New World: Values That Unite”, to be held in Moscow on 18–19 September 2026.
According to Andrey Belyaninov, General Secretary of the World Peoples Assembly, “the Addis Ababa Summit is an important step toward building a new world founded on mutual respect, cultural diversity, dialogue and sustainable development.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The United Kingdom will get its seventh Prime Minister in 10 years as Mr Keir Starmer announced his resignation on Monday.
The Minister said he is stepping down as leader of the governing Labour Party and will leave office within weeks, scarcely two years after being elected in a landslide.
Mr Starmer says he will remain caretaker prime minister until a new Labour leader is chosen by the party.
Mr Starmer made the announcement after facing growing pressure to hand over to a new leader who can try to revive the government’s flagging fortunes.
He led Labour to a landslide election victory in July 2024, but since then, his popularity and that of the party have plummeted.
His departure was triggered by the victory of Mr Andy Burnham in a special election last week. The popular ex-mayor of Greater Manchester planned to challenge the existing PM for the Labour leadership.
Mr Starmer made the announcement outside the prime minister’s 10 Downing St. residence with a brief statement on Monday.
“The question my party is asking now is whether I am best placed to lead us into the next general election,” Mr Starmer said. “I have heard the answer of my parliamentary party to that question, and I accept that answer with good grace.
Mr Starmer is the sixth prime minister in a decade to stand outside 10 Downing Street and announce a premature departure.
It comes the day before Britain marks the 10th anniversary of its vote to leave the European Union, a decision that still affects the country’s economy and politics.
Over the past decade, 10 Downing Street has had six occupants, including Mr David Cameron, who left office in 2016 after the Brexit referendum and was succeeded by Ms Theresa May. She was followed by Mr Boris Johnson, whose tenure covered Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic. After Mr Johnson came Ms Liz Truss, whose 49-day premiership was the shortest in British history. Mr Rishi Sunak then took office before being succeeded by Mr Starmer, the outgoing occupant of Number 10.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A financing facility of up to $60 million has been secured by AXIAN Energy, the energy division of the AXIAN Group.
The funding package was provided by MCB, one of the leading financial institutions in the Indian Ocean region.
It comprises a $40 million revolving credit facility with a three-year tenor and extension option, and $20 million in unfunded instruments, providing AXIAN Energy with enhanced financial flexibility, enabling the company to rapidly mobilise resources and seize development opportunities across its target markets.
The energy firm is expected to use the capital to deliver large-scale energy infrastructure projects across Africa.
Over the past two years, AXIAN Energy has significantly accelerated its growth by expanding its renewable energy project pipeline, with solar projects currently under development in Senegal, Benin, Zambia, Côte d’Ivoire, Madagascar, and Burkina Faso.
Building on this momentum, AXIAN Energy now operates a portfolio comprising 350 MW of installed renewable energy capacity, supported by 77 MWh of energy storage capacity, positioning the AXIAN Group as a major contributor to Africa’s energy transition.
The chief executive of AXIAN Energy, Mr Benjamin Memmi, said, “This transaction marks a key milestone in AXIAN Energy’s growth trajectory. It provides us with the financial capacity to sustain the momentum we have built over the past two years, further strengthening our renewable energy portfolio and expanding our presence across new African markets.”
Also commenting, the Global Head of Structured Finance at MCB, Mr Mathieu Delteil, said, “We are proud to support AXIAN Energy in structuring this facility, reaffirming our commitment to enabling transformative projects across Africa.
“By leveraging our sector expertise and deep understanding of regional markets, we have delivered a tailored financing solution that aligns with AXIAN’s long-term renewable energy ambitions.
“This partnership highlights our role as a strategic financial partner, mobilising capital towards investments that drive sustainable growth and accelerate the energy transition across the continent.”
The financing agreement between the two organisations strengthens their long-standing relationship because it is driven by a shared commitment to supporting infrastructure development and economic growth across Africa.
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