MOSCOW, November 10. /TASS/. Russia needs to compile its various ideas for cooperation with Africa into a single comprehensive and publicly available strategy to achieve more success, according to a Foreign Ministry-sponsored report by the Higher School of Economics that was released to TASS on Wednesday.
The report, titled ‘’Africa: the prospects for development and recommendations for Russia’s policy’’ and prepared by the university’s World Economy and World Politics Department, said Africa’s role in international relations is expanding and that process will only gain pace in the future. African countries are trying to coordinate their stance on key global issues and stepping up their involvement in international organizations, analysts said in the report.
Africa has huge economic potential and is rapidly developing, with human capital and natural resources being the two key drivers of its long-term significance, the analysts said.
"In the long term, Africa should be considered as a region with a significant potential for growth, consolidation and development, which has so far unlocked its potential for participation in the international economic and political system to a lesser degree than others,’’ the report said.
Russia as security provider
Even so, Africa will remain a source of security threats, according to the report. The reasons include competition from outside forces seeking resources and political influence in Africa, the fight among regional elites for the resource rent and the issues of climate and demography, which trigger enmity, conflicts and the radicalization of illegal groups. The number of armed conflicts is on the rise and the territory, where recognized governments have no control, is expanding.
Russia should position itself as a security provider and sovereignty defender for African countries that would prevent interference of outside forces and attempts to destabilize the political systems on the continent, the report said. Africa is also a promising market for Russian products such as railroad and farm equipment as well as services, the report said.
It's important that Russia establishes cooperation in Africa with China and other countries that are interested in cooperation with Russia, the analysts said.
Need for strategy
The report is proposing that Russia compile a comprehensive and publicly available strategy for Africa based on all the initiatives, which now seem disjointed. "An adoption by Russia of an open doctrinal document for cooperation with Africa would stress the serious intentions, build an atmosphere of trust in which separate steps will have more weight and a higher level of the objective, which in the African conditions will mean a speedier approval of the necessary decisions,’’ the analysts said.
That strategy could be rolled out at the second Russia-Africa summit, with prior discussion by experts and approval by the African partners. Russia should seek to cooperate with Africa on three levels. On one level Africa should be treated as a single entity represented by the African Union, on another, Russia could seek cooperation with individual countries. Economic cooperation in certain areas, such as energy, infrastructure, food security - which would all target bolstering Russian exports to Africa - would be the third level.
The report was prepared as part of a program sponsored by the Russian Foreign Ministry that the Higher School of Economics implements with support from the State Duma’s International Affairs Committee, the non-governmental Council for Foreign and Defense Policy and Russia in Global Affairs magazine.