From diamonds and arms to nuclear power and oil, Russia has major business ambitions in Africa, even if it is coming late to the party.
The timing of the Russia-Africa Summit -- the first major gathering of African leaders in Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 -- is hardly a coincidence. Overall Russian trade with Africa stood at about $20 billion in 2018, less than half the continent's trade with France and 10 times less than with China.The numbers have been growing however. Russian exports to Africa doubled in the last three years and have risen from one percent of total exports five years ago to four percent now.
Russia's traditional industries are giving it a competitive advantage in Africa, said Charles Robertson, chief economist at Renaissance Capital.North Africa dominates, accounting for about 80 percent of Russia's trade with the continent. Cairo and Moscow have agreed a slew of deals for Russia to sell arms and build nuclear power plants, and Egypt -- the world's biggest grain importer -- is now mainly fed by Russian supplies.Arms deals have been especially useful as Russia expands its interests into sub-Saharan Africa, with agreements reached over the last few years that included the Central African Republic, Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea.
Russian business instead seem to be seizing opportunities ad hoc, in contrast to the Turkish approach.