World
Russia’s Expanding Geopolitical Influence in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
Growing impatience over the fragile security situation in the Sahel region and collective anxiety to lift up and strengthen their Confederation of Sahel States (AES), some prefers the Alliance des États du Sahel (translates in English as the Alliance of Sahel States), the three Foreign Ministers of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger embarked on a fresh trip to Moscow.
Meetings, held in early April 2025, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov undoubtedly gave a strong boost to the AES relations, marking the latest new chapter in building sustainable security ties and economic cooperation.
Ahead of the meeting, the Russian Foreign Ministry said the Sahel foreign ministers prioritized perspectives on regulating their political crisis as well as focusing on economic spheres. According to Russia’s MFA, the three African countries’ foreign ministries indicated in a joint statement that the joint visit as the first session of “AES-Russia consultations” which aims at finding appropriate pathways in fighting jihadist insurgencies that has spread across the region south of the Sahara.
Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger currently run by military governments that have taken power in coups between 2021 an 2022, have formed an alliance known as the Confederation of Sahel States (AES). By creating their own bloc, it exposes Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) weaknesses and its long-term inability and incompetency to deal with regional problems, particularly rising security through mediation.
The French grouping later kicked out French and other Western forces and conveniently turned towards Russia for military support. Their foreign ministers will visit Moscow on April 3 and 4 and hold meetings with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at his invitation, the statement said.
“The Moscow meeting represents an important step in establishing strategic, pragmatic, dynamic and supportive cooperation and partnership relations in areas of common interest between the AES and Russia,” the ministries said.
Basic research and review show that besides instability, these countries are engulfed with various socio-economic problems primarily due to the system of governance and poor policies toward sustainable development. And Russia’s renewed and full-fledged interest is primarily focused on uprooting French domination, and support the development goals of these French-speaking West African countries in the Sahel region.
For fear and concerns about the new rise of terrorism and for the sake of deeper cooperation and integration, the three Sahelian countries have turned to Russia, and as expected Russia has since offered tremendous assistance. As a follow up, the early April meetings in Moscow, several critical issues are on the agenda: military assistance to fight growing terrorism, and efforts to strengthen political dialogue and promote concrete partnerships relating to trade and the economy in the region.
The AES has multitude of obstacles, the main problems emerged after exiting out of ECOWAS, the regional organization consisting 16 West African states. Finance is another hurdle among others. Nevertheless, Russian Foreign Ministry explained in a statement posted on its website, that Russia’s military-technical cooperation with African countries is primarily directed at settling regional conflicts and preventing the spread of terrorist threats and fighting the growing terrorism in the continent.
Russia’s MFA has earlier assured: “we will continue supporting it with the supply of arms and hardware and personnel training, including peacekeepers, as it is very important to help put an end to this evil and other challenges and threats, including drug trafficking and other forms of organized crime.”
With regards to financing AES, the bloc on March 31st introduced 0.5% levy on imported goods to finance their newly formed three-state union, following their withdrawal from ECOWAS. The agreed levy took immediate effect and applies to all imported goods except humanitarian aid.
It also implied that the move officially ended free trade with West Africa’s ECOWAS bloc, deepening the rift between the three and regional democracies like Nigeria and Ghana. Worth noting that ECOWAS sanctions imposed to force a return to civilian rule have had little impact, as the Sahel alliance continues to strengthen economic and security cooperation.
Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger are among many African countries bartering natural resources. There have been cases, where huge natural-resource projects were given away without cabinet discussions and parliament’s approval.
Apparently, these agreements on resources extraction hardly deliver broad-based development dividends. Nevertheless, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have bilateral agreements with Russia. The three have offered complete access to exploiting their natural resources in exchange for military equipment and weaponry as well as military training. Burkina Faso signed a Memorandum of Understanding on nuclear energy with the State Atomic Energy Corporation (Rosatom) during the Russia-Africa summit held in St. Petersburg in July 2023.
Russian President Vladimir Putin mentioned security issue and economic cooperation during his opening and closing speeches at the summit and even previously, indicating its importance on Russia’s agenda with Africa. In fact, there were five key summit documents and one of them focuses on ‘Strengthening Cooperation to Combat Terrorism’ which neatly relates to this article theme here under discussion.
Although Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have abundant human and natural resources, offering tremendous potential for rapid growth, there are existing deep-rooted challenges – environmental, political and security – that may affect the prosperity and peace of the region. Therefore, external support is badly required and which is why Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have to look up to Russia as their economic and security saviour, particularly this changing geopolitical situation in the world.
According to various narratives, Russia has embarked on fighting “neo-colonialism” which it considers as a stumbling stone on its way to regain a part of its Soviet-era influence in Africa. Russia has sought to convince Africans over the past years of the likely dangers of neocolonial tendencies perpetrated by the former colonial countries and the scramble for resources on the continent.
In pursuit of its geopolitical interest, Russia has ultimately begun making inroads into the Sahel region, an elongated landlocked territory located between North Africa (Maghreb) and West Africa, and also stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea.
With human and natural resources, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger China are undertaking giant economic and social transformation. Quite essentially, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, within the geopolitical reconfiguration in West Africa, are desirous to ensure their political sovereignty, engage in development which Russia has expressed interest to support.
Certainly, the three have pledged to work together to find common solutions, and are oriented towards multipolarity. In this way, they could consolidate its integration to become a center of influence, diversify the economy to become prosperous in the region. Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger are expected to continue to advance their collective interests for the purposes of their development, prosperity and stability.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
For transforming cross-border payments through its deployment with Global Money Exchange, Comviva has been named Best In-Class Cross Border Payments.
The global leader in digital transformation solutions clinched this latest accolade at the IBS Intelligence Global FinTech Innovation Award 2025.
The recognition highlights how Comviva’s mobiquity Pay is helping shape a modern cross-border payment ecosystem that stretches far beyond conventional remittance services.
Deployed as a white label Wallet Platform and launched as Global Pay Oman App, it fulfils GMEC’s dual vision—positioning itself as an innovative payment service provider while digitally extending its core money transfer business.
The solution allows GMEC to offer international money transfers alongside seamless forex ordering and other services. These capabilities sit alongside a broad suite of everyday financial services, including bill and utility payments, merchant transactions, education-related payments, and other digital conveniences — all delivered through one unified experience.
“This award is a testament to Oman’s accelerating digital transformation and our commitment to reshaping how cross-border payments serve people and businesses across the Sultanate.
“By partnering with Comviva and bringing the Global Pay Oman Super App, we have moved beyond traditional remittance services to create a truly inclusive and future-ready financial ecosystem.
“This innovation is not only enhancing convenience and transparency for our customers but is also supporting Oman’s broader vision of building a digitally empowered economy,” the Managing Director at Global Money Exchange, Subromoniyan K.S, said.
Also commenting, the chief executive of Comviva, Mr Rajesh Chandiramani, said, “Cross-border payments are becoming a daily necessity, not a niche service, particularly for migrant and trade-linked economies.
“This recognition from IBS Intelligence validates our focus on building payment platforms that combine global reach with local relevance, operational resilience and a strong user experience. The deployment with Global Money Exchange Co. demonstrates how mobiquity® Pay enables financial institutions to move beyond remittances and deliver integrated digital services at scale.”
“The deployment of mobiquity Pay for GMEC showcases how scalable, API-driven digital wallet platforms can transform cross-border payments into seamless, value-rich experiences.
“By integrating remittances, bill payments, forex services, and AI-powered engagement into a unified Super App, Comviva has reimagined customer journeys and operational agility.
“This Best-in-Class Cross-border Payments award win stands as a testament to Comviva’s excellence in enabling financial institutions to compete and grow in a digitally convergent world,” the Director for Research and Digital Properties at IBS Intelligence, Nikhil Gokhale, said.
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
At the end of an extensive consultation with African foreign ministers, Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, has emphasized that Moscow would advance its economic engagement across Africa, admittedly outlining obstacles delaying the prompt implementation of several initiatives set forth in Strategic Action Plan (2023-2026) approved in St. Petersburg during the Russia-Africa Summit.
The second Ministerial Conference, by the Russian Foreign Ministry with support from Roscongress Foundation and the Arab Republic of Egypt, marked an important milestone towards raising bilateral investment and economic cooperation.
In Cairo, the capital city of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Lavrov read out the final resolution script, in a full-packed conference hall, and voiced strong confidence that Moscow would achieve its strategic economic goals with Africa, with support from the African Union (AU) and other Regional Economic blocs in the subsequent years. Despite the complexities posed by the Russia-Ukraine crisis, combined with geopolitical conditions inside the African continent, Moscow however reiterated its position to take serious steps in finding pragmatic prospects for mutual cooperation and improve multifaceted relations with Africa, distinctively in the different sectors: in trade, economic and investment spheres, education and culture, humanitarian and other promising areas.
The main event was the plenary session co-chaired by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emigration, and Egyptians Abroad Bashar Abdelathi. Welcome messages from Russian President Vladimir Putin and Egyptian President Abdelhak Sisi were read.
And broadly, the meeting participants compared notes on the most pressing issues on the international and Russian-African agendas, with a focus on the full implementation of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum Action Plan for 2023-2026, approved at the second Russia-Africa Summit in St. Petersburg in 2023.
In addition, on the sidelines of the conference, Lavrov held talks with his African counterparts, and a number of bilateral documents were signed. A thematic event was held with the participation of Russian and African relevant agencies and organizations, aimed at unlocking the potential of trilateral Russia-Egypt-Africa cooperation in trade, economic, and educational spheres.
With changing times, Africa is rapidly becoming one of the key centers of a multipolar world order. It is experiencing a second awakening. Following their long-ago political independence, African countries are increasingly insisting on respect for their sovereignty and their right to independently manage their resources and destiny. Based on these conditions, it was concluded that Moscow begins an effective and comprehensive work on preparing a new three-year Cooperation and Joint Action Plan between Russia and Africa.
Moreover, these important areas of joint practical work are already detailed in the Joint Statement, which was unanimously approved and will serve as an important guideline for future work. According to reports, the Joint Statement reflects the progress of discussions on international and regional issues, as well as matters of global significance.
Following the conference, the Joint Statement adopted reflects shared approaches to addressing challenges and a mutual commitment to strengthening multifaceted cooperation with a view to ensuring high-quality preparation for the third Russia-Africa Summit in 2026.
On December 19-20, the Second Ministerial Conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum was held in Cairo, Egypt. It was held for the first time on the African continent, attended by heads and representatives of the foreign policy ministries of 52 African states and the executive bodies of eight regional integration associations.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Social media platform, TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance has signed binding agreements with United States and global investors to operate its business in America.
Half of the joint venture will be owned by a group of investors, including Oracle, Silver Lake and the Emirati investment firm MGX, according to a memo sent by chief executive, Mr Shou Zi Chew.
The deal, which is set to close on January 22, 2026 would end years of efforts by the US government to force ByteDance to sell its US operations over national security concerns.
It is in line with a deal unveiled in September, when US President Donald Trump delayed the enforcement of a law that would ban the app unless it was sold.
In the memo, TikTok said the deal will enable “over 170 million Americans to continue discovering a world of endless possibilities as part of a vital global community”.
Under the agreement, ByteDance will retain 19.9 per cent of the business, while Oracle, Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based MGX will hold 15 per cent each.
Another 30.1 per cent will be held by affiliates of existing ByteDance investors, according to the memo.
The White House previously said that Oracle, which was co-founded by President Trump’s supporter Larry Ellison, will license TikTok’s recommendation algorithm as part of the deal.
The deal comes after a series of delays.
Business Post reported in April 2024 that the administration of President Joe Biden passed a law to ban the app over national security concerns, unless it was sold.
The law was set to go into effect on January 20, 2025 but was pushed back multiple times by President Trump, while his administration worked out a deal to transfer ownership.
President Trump said in September that he had spoken on the phone to China’s President Xi Jinping, who he said had given the deal the go ahead.
The platform’s future remained unclear after the leaders met face to face in October.
The app’s fate was clouded by ongoing tensions between the two nations on trade and other matters.
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