Russian President Vladimir Putin has promised African leaders the best of partnerships, accusing the West of continuing to exploit Africa’s resources and using debt as a tool to hold back the continent’s development.
Speaking at the third Russia-Africa Summit in Moscow on October 28, President Putin made a firm pledge to offer support to the continent in the face of global challenges.
President Putin said Western powers, having enriched themselves at the expense of others, were now resorting to coercive economic measures to maintain their dominance.
“When they managed to enrich themselves at the expense of others, they are resorting to such things as illegitimate sanctions, economic diktat, tariff wars, blackmail, interference within the domestic affairs of others,” he said.
He accused the West of deliberately pushing African countries back into unsustainable debt, offering financing and resource deals on exploitative terms.
“They are also trying to run the Africans back into the debt abyss. They are trying to impose on them resources, but on terrible terms, which are tantamount to robbery. And the African countries have to repay these debts to the detriment of developmental plans,” President Putin stated.
The Russian leader invoked the words of a former President of Burkina Faso, Thomas Sankara, to underscore his point on the burden of debt.
“I would like to remember Thomas Sankara. He used to say debt is basically neocolonialism,” he said.
“When the colonizers have turned themselves into technical assistants, this is very clever rules in order to reconquer Africa and to subject Africa’s development and growth to somebody else’s rules. This was said back in 1987 by the great son of Africa, the great Sankara.”
According to President Putin, the legacy of colonial infrastructure, which was designed to transport raw materials to mother countries, continues to limit Africa’s industrial growth. He noted that Africa’s manufacturing value addition stands at less than 2 percent, while intra-African trade accounts for just 15 percent of the continent’s $1.5 trillion total trade volume.
“These reverberations are still felt across Africa because the infrastructure was built during the colonial times. It was meant to transport raw resources, raw materials to the mother countries,” he observed.
He, however, said the situation was shifting, thanks to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which he said was contributing to production, industrial cooperation and greater economic independence.
President Putin reiterated Russia’s commitment to helping improve Africa’s debt situation, disclosing that Moscow has joint programmes with several African countries aimed at financing growth.
“As is well known, Russia is helping improve the debt situation in Africa. We have a number of joint programs with a number of African countries. And these programs are meant to use blended money, lend money to finance growth,” he said.
The third Russia-Africa Summit has brought together African leaders and Russian officials to discuss trade, security, food security and economic cooperation.
