MOSCOW, March 19. /TASS/. Russia is ready to help Africa become a strong pole of power in the international arena, Oleg Ozerov, Russian Foreign Ministry’s Ambassador at Large, said on Sunday.
According to the diplomat, the African continent is a rising power, which "will gain more and more significance in this new world." "Africa is getting prepared for a new stage of its development, which will see two main processes. This is the process of strengthening national sovereignty, and Russia fully supports our African friends on this because we want each country to have an independent voice, to determine its policy in the international arena by itself, without any foreign coercion. We are convinced that we have much in common. We have common interests, first of all, in what concerns security," Ozerov, who is the head of the secretariat of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum, told a roundtable meeting on security within the framework of the second Russia-Africa international parliamentary conference.
Another security dimension, in his words, is strengthening integration processes on the African continent. He drew attention to the fact that an African continental free trade zone was launched in 2022. He also noted that the role of sub-regional integration associations is increasing. "We are convinced that these two mutually supplementing processes will help Africa develop as a strong pole of power in the global arena in the foreseeable perspective. And, naturally, we are interested in, first, promoting the development of this pole of power and, second, in having a reliable friend embodied by African states," he added.