Al Jazeera framed the Moscow summit as a test of whether Russia can turn its trade pledge into lasting commercial ties with African countries, whose leaders seek more industry, technology and employment.
The pledge came during a Moscow summit. The outlet said reaching the goal would roughly double the current value of bilateral trade. Al Jazeera reported that Russia’s trade with Belarus is larger than its trade with the entire African continent.
Al Jazeera described Moscow’s pitch as covering grain, arms, nuclear power and factory projects. The program described a gap between Russia’s security footprint and the scale of its commercial activity across Africa.
The program said African leaders want partnerships to generate jobs and technical expertise locally and leave more of the value from natural resources in African economies. Al Jazeera reported that Putin accused Western governments of pushing African countries into “debt bondage” and cast Russia’s proposal as the fairer alternative.
Al Jazeera reported that past Russian trade goals remained unfulfilled and sanctions were making Moscow more reliant on partners. It raised the possibility that this dependence could strengthen African governments’ bargaining position, but cited no resulting concessions.
