The fact sheets for the Russian Army Games, distributed publicly at the Central Coordination Information Service, document the annual increase in purchases of military equipment by foreign customers, including African countries. Our monitoring and research shows that Russia has historically maintained good relations with North African countries, especially Algeria and Egypt.
In addition, the Central African Republic (CAR) and the Republic of Mali are their favorite partners after signing a bilateral military-technical cooperation agreement. Within Africa, relations between many French-speaking countries and France have recently become strained due to multiple factors, including discord between Russia and France. There are several signs that Russia has now moved to combat neocolonial tendencies in Africa.
Russia has been keen to provide military support, including the sale of advanced weapons and military technology to countries it considers allies in Africa, and further in Asia and Latin America. During this year’s Army Games in Kubinka, outside Moscow, Russian Defense Ministry officials held separate talks with some participating African countries about strengthening their defense capabilities as part of military-technical cooperation.
According to sources, more than ten African countries including Algeria, Congo, Egypt, Nigeria, Sudan and Zimbabwe participated in the Games. The Army Games were attended by hundreds of military instructors from the Russian private military company Wagner Group in Mali and the Central African Republic.
Brigadier General Mike Nicholas Sango, Zimbabwe’s ambassador to the Russian Federation, told me during the discussion, “Russian policy towards Zimbabwe has changed positively over the past few years. The Zimbabwean government’s engagement with the Russian Federation is historically rooted in the new state’s commitment to Contribution to freedom and statehood in 1980.”
According to him, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Emmerson Dambuzo Mnangagwa, visited Moscow in 2019. Since then, ministers and MPs have exchanged visits. In early June 2022, Federal Council President Valentina Matvienko visited Zimbabwe. Over the years, the Zimbabwean army has participated in the Army Games and the Army Games in mid-August 2022.
Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin held talks with Sudanese Defense Minister Yassin Ibrahim to discuss strengthening security in Africa. According to official reports, the Deputy Defense Minister of the Russian Federation, General Alexander Fomin, held a working meeting on August 17 with the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Sudan, Lieutenant General Yassin Ibrahim.
It further stated that Russia is committed to further cooperation with Sudan to strengthen security in Africa. The two sides exchanged views on developing Russian-Soviet military and military-technical cooperation. The Sudanese minister reiterated the commitment of the top leadership of the Republic of Sudan to develop cooperation with the Russian Federation in the military field. “We highly appreciate the role of the Russian Federation in maintaining world peace and security,” Yassin Ibrahim said.
Russia will also help strengthen the army and increase its effectiveness against illegal armed groups in the French-speaking Republic of West Africa. As expected, Fomin pointed out the importance of cooperation between Russia and Mali in a separate meeting with the Minister of Defense and Veterans Affairs of Mali, Colonel Sadio Kamara, and confirmed that the Russian Ministry of Defense is ready to sign the framework of the military-technical agreement. Continued constructive dialogue within the Cooperation.
In addition to this, the Russian Armed Forces Chief of Staff told visiting Algerian counterparts at the Army Games that Russia has been cooperating with Algeria and wants to strengthen arms sales to the North African country. “We are committed to reinvigorating our bilateral relations in the field of military and technical cooperation,” General Yuri Baluyevski told Algerian General Salah Ghede, according to local news agencies.
Gaid, a Russian-speaking speaker educated in the Soviet Union, was moderated by the management of Rosoboronexport, the company that oversees most of Russia’s arms exports, as well as business leaders in the arms industry. In addition to the $1.5 billion purchase of 50 Russian MiG-29 aircraft currently under negotiation, the two countries could soon sign arms contracts worth about $500 million, Interfax news agency said, citing Defense Ministry sources.
Oil-rich Algeria, which currently accounts for 3 percent of Russia’s arms exports, is considering buying fighter jets, ships and ground weapons, the sources said. Algeria, which has close ties to the former Soviet Union, continued to buy arms from Russia after the fall of communism in 1991. Recent contracts between the two countries include the sale of 22 Su-24 fencing aircraft, Kh-35 anti-ship cruise missiles, transport helicopters and maintenance services for coast guard ships, according to Interfax.
Russian President Vladimir Putin explained that Russia is ready to distribute advanced weapons around the world, especially in Africa, Asia and Latin America. “Russia sincerely cherishes the historically strong, friendly and genuinely trusting relations with Latin American, Asian and African countries and is ready to provide its partners and allies with the most modern weapons,” Putin said at the Army’s opening ceremony. 2022 International Military-Technical Forum on the outskirts of Moscow.
“From small arms to armored vehicles and artillery, fighter jets and drones,” Putin said, adding that “almost every” weapon he was willing to sell globally was used in combat more than once, claiming that Russian-made products were superior to his Products manufactured by foreign competitors.
“Many of them are years, even decades, ahead of their foreign counterparts, and they are clearly superior to them in terms of tactics and technical characteristics,” Putin reiterated. His remarks are available on the Kremlin’s website.
Russia ranks second with about $15 billion in annual arms sales, accounting for nearly one-fifth of the global export market. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, from 2017 to 2021, 73% of sales will go to just four countries – India, China, Egypt and Algeria.
The documents signed at the Olympics cover a wide range of issues, including the supply and maintenance of modern ground military equipment, drones, radio electronics and close combat weapons. Several financial arrangements were also made to secure funding for the development and production of samples of modern military equipment. Orders from Asian and African countries as well as CIS countries form part of Rostec’s order portfolio.
Suffice to say, Moscow foreign policy expert Dr. Shabani Nzori believes that Russian military-technical cooperation with African countries is appropriate in Russia’s foreign policy, but African leaders should also allocate sufficient funds for African priorities. development projects.
“Over the years, Russia has attached great importance to the military field in Africa. This clearly shows that Russia’s commercial engagement with Africa is weak. So far, we cannot point to the infrastructure projects Russia has completed in Africa. There are many areas of investment. Today, the important thing is Russia must go beyond selling arms to Africa! Still, there is an opportunity for Russia to transfer its technology to Africa’s agriculture and industry,” Shabani said in the interview discussion.
Our monitoring and research show that African countries are interested in military-technical cooperation. Our monitoring further shows that Russia’s traditional importers of arms from Africa include Algeria, Angola, Burkina Faso, Botswana, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Libya, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Sudan, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Russia is still exploring the possibility of reaching a deal with more African countries.
“This proves once again that the interest in our development is growing. Every year there are more and more negotiations on military-technical cooperation and we are actively cooperating with our main customers. This year, we held on the platform with Russian and foreign partners The meeting was held and the agreement was signed,” said Rostec Industrial Director Sergey Abramov.
According to Russia’s military strategy, the main goal is to ensure that Russia has a technological advantage in a competitive global market. This also includes the introduction of new techno-economic paradigms and the digitization of the Russian economy.
Rostec Corporation is a state-owned enterprise established in 2007 to promote the development, production and export of high-tech industrial products for civilian and military use. It consists of more than 700 organizations currently affiliated with 11 holding companies operating in the military-industrial complex and 3 holding companies operating in the civilian industry, as well as more than 80 directly managed organizations.
Rostec Corporation’s product portfolio includes well-known brands such as Avtovaz, Kamaz, Concern Kalashnikov, Russian Helicopters and UralVagonZavod. The company Rostec is distributed in 60 constituent entities of the Russian Federation and supplies products to markets in more than 100 countries.
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