World
Russia’s Diplomacy of Promises: The Case of Ghana
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
“Russia sets aside $1 billion to boost trade ties with Ghana” – simply made the media headline, but has serious implications for Russia’s diplomacy.
The published article described the bilateral relations as “sustainable partnership” between Russia and the Republic of Ghana. That was far back in January 2018 and given wide publicity to show Russia’s economic presence in Africa. Taking into cognizance the participating dignitaries including the Russian Ambassador Dmitry Suslov inside the Russian diplomatic premises, is most probably reflected in official documents of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.
The Russian Federation set aside $1 billion to assist Russian companies wanting to invest in Ghana’s economy, in a move aimed at reinvigorating the sixty-year-old diplomatic relations that exist between the two countries and which were strongest in the Nkrumah era, archive research shows.
In commemorating the 60 years of established diplomatic relations with Ghana, and at that reception, Chairman of the Ghana Russian Business Development Council, Dr Lawrence Awuku-Boateng, explained that Ghanaian business people wanting do business with Russia would be assisted. The money would be disbursed through the Russian Export Centre.
“I am glad to announce that the Russian government has decided to assist all Russian companies that would like to work in Ghana, and Ghanaian companies who would like to do business with the Russians should contact the Embassy or Council for assistance,” Awuku-Boateng told the gathering.
Ambassador Suslov took his turn and said his country was committed to building “sustainable partnerships” with Ghana. “I can see Ghana now attracts more Russian businesses due to its stable democracy, sustainable macroeconomic performance and advanced business infrastructure. The importance of Ghana to Russia as an anchor partner country within the West Africa region is in a way being recognised and affirmed by the continuous presence of Russian delegations in the country,” he said.
Similarly, different Russian companies have been rushing for investment. With its stated purpose to create developing economic cooperation, Russian Railway Company, Geo Services, said it was ready to invest over $12.5 billion in the redevelopment of Ghana’s Railway network, a project the President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo government has shown keen interest in realizing to boost the transport network (railway infrastructure) and ultimately the economy.
Geo-Services CEO, Sergey Kamnev, headed a delegation to attend the market-sounding event organized by the Ministries of Railways Development and Transport, on the development of the Eastern Railway Line and the Boankra Inland Port projects. The government was seeking to enter into a Public, Private Partnership arrangement for the two specific projects, for which an estimated US$2.4billion was required.
“With our own unofficial pre-feasibility conducted, we are assuring you that we will give Ghana the best. Considering our record, even in the area of fatalities within the industry, I can say that, with over 100years experience in railway in the world, we have recorded, I am sure, the least of fatalities,” Sergey Kamnev said at the event in Accra, Ghana.
“Having said that, if we are given the right to build the rail lines in Ghana, we are going to use Ghanaians to manufacture everything in Ghana, from executive wagons to bolt and knots. This is going to help us openly, at least, 20 factories in the country,” he added.
Eastern Railway Line was planned to complete by 2020. The Minister of Railway Development, Joe Ghartey, informed that the government set 2020 as the deadline for the completion of the Eastern Railway line project. The project will accommodate speed trains which have a speed of over 500 km per hour, making the journey faster and easier.
“The government is ready and feasibility is almost complete; that is why we are having this market-sounding event which is a meeting with investors to share ideas on how to build a better railway network in Ghana. I have directed that the project is completed by 2020, using speed trains. Ghana deserves the best and we, as a government, are willing to sign up for the best in this project for Ghana,” Minister Joe Ghartey stated.
The market sounding conference was attended by investors interested in partnering government in the rehabilitation and expansion of the country’s rail network from the south to Paga in the Upper East Region.
Ghana’s rail network that is currently operational, which is approximately 947 kilometres, is faced with an obsolete network and poor track infrastructure, resulting in the closure of greater part of the Western and Eastern lines and the entire Central line, leading to a high incidence of derailments that lead to loss of operational hours and damage to rolling stock.
The revamping of the railways sector was expected to happen hand-in-hand with the construction of the Boankra Inland Port, strategically located near Kumasi, to ease the movement of goods to the northern parts of the country and neighbouring landlocked countries.
Perhaps the most important way forward beside the official interaction, and in order to enhance further relations between the two countries, the Russian Federation has endorsed creating the Ghana-Russian Business Development Council to help in linking up business, education and culture.
Early October 2021, within the framework of the official visit to Ghana, the Head of the Secretariat of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum, Ambassador-at-Large Oleg Ozerov, participated in discussions between the Association of Economic Cooperation with African States (AECAS) and the Ghana-Russia Business Development Council. According to reports, the ceremony was also attended by the current Ambassador of the Russian Federation in Ghana, Sergei Berdnikov.
The two parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding which stipulates developing and strengthening bilateral cooperation. The focus is to promote Russian companies’ products and services on the African market, to share expertise and exchange information in order to create favourable conditions for the development of Russia-Ghana relations.
On the other hand, critics say Russian officials consider it inexpedient to deal with well-established agencies and organizations such as the Ghana Export Promotion Council, Ghana Export Authority, Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry et cetera. These business entities make the entire process of trading quite easy and convenient for the business parties involved by liaising with other agencies to simplify documentation and import/export procedures as well as customs and freight carriers in the country.
Another important issue critics singled out in their discussions was the importance of the Russia-Ghana Permanent Joint Commission for Cooperation (PJCC) created several years ago for ensuring and strengthening bilateral relations in the political, economic, trade, technical and cultural spheres between the two countries. At least, Russia and Ghana are looking forward to expanding trade and investment exchanges using the mechanism of the Intergovernmental Commission on trade-economic and scientific-technical cooperation.
During the session of the Russia-Ghana Permanent Joint Commission for Cooperation (PJCC) held in Saint Petersburg in May, the both Foreign Affairs Ministers of Russia and Ghana agreed to speed up work on agreements and memoranda that will strengthen the legal framework of cooperation. Further agreed to encourage business circles, chambers of commerce and industry of the two countries to continue and intensify direct contacts and frequent interactions.
Our monitoring and interviews show that not everybody is highly-satisfied with the current approach toward Africa. In an interview conducted by this author, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration explains explicitly that “Russia and Ghana have excellent diplomatic relations, which have been developed over the years, precisely more than 30 years. Russian Federation started in 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet era. Although, for a relationship lasting this long, one would have expected it to move past where it is now. In short, there is still room for improvement.”
Despite the policy challenges and shortcomings, Ghana is still open to all the support that it could get from its external friends and development partners in the nation-building drive, particularly in the nationwide industrialization programme of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration. Ghana could benefit a lot from the rich experiences of Russia, which has advanced knowledge, in the area of industrialization, she underscored in the interview discussion.
An undeniable and acknowledgeable fact is that Russia plans to boost multifaceted relations with Africa. As pointed out in a policy report last November, Russia’s approach is practically marked by a high degree of inconsistency and lacks effective systematic coordination on several important issues with Africa. The report points to shortsightedness and little desire to face the rapidly changing political and economic realities in Africa.
According to that report, high-level meetings have increased but the share of substantive issues remains extremely minimal, and worse so far there were few definitive results from the unprecedented huge number of high-level official meetings. The report indicates clearly that Russia’s possibilities are overestimated both publicly and in closed negotiations. It further stresses the lack of “information hygiene” at all levels of public speaking among the main flaws of Russia’s policy on Africa.
Nevertheless, according to the policy experts’ assessment of the situation, Russia needs to shift steadily towards new paradigms – first to move away from the most often stereotypical narratives, and frequent criticisms of other key external players. And second to seriously begin implementing, especially in this crucial time of global geopolitical changes and emerging new order, some of its own decade-old pledges and promises, and take concrete steps in fulfilling those several bilateral agreements signed with individual African countries.
The report provides useful recommendations aim at closing the gap between mainstream policies, how to remove the policy pitfalls and turning a new page by adopting a well-refined approach toward Africa. The authoritative 150-page report was researched and prepared by 25 Russian policy experts headed by Professor Sergei Karaganov who is currently the Honorary Chairman of the Presidium of the Council on Foreign and Defence Policy. The report titled – Situation Analytical Report – was publicly presented at the premises of TASS Information News Agency in November 2021.
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
