Russia has initiated a raw materials dialogue with the poorest continent.
Recently, at Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University in St. Petersburg, the Russia–Africa Raw Materials Dialogue took place, bringing together over 500 representatives from more than 40 African countries and 130 organizations. The focus was on the question crucial for the continent of how to make the long-proclaimed sovereignty of African countries over their natural resources a reality, and to put these resources at the service of their own development.
It is no secret that for decades, the natural resources of African countries have been exploited by transnational corporations in the interests of Western countries. This is the most important element of neocolonialism, in which former metropolises skim the cream off the extraction of mineral resources while bearing no responsibility for the growing poverty of Africans. Nineteen of the world’s twenty poorest countries are on the African continent. All this takes place with the “support” of the Bretton Woods institutions controlled by the West, plunging Africa into a vicious circle of debt dependence. At present, 75% of investments in the mining industry come from foreign companies. As for the UN, it “feeds” Africans with the Sustainable Development Goals and the “green” agenda, which do not take into account the real development needs of African countries and reinforce their technological dependence on the West.
Africa received no “peace dividend” from the end of the Cold War. The predatory exploitation of the continent’s natural resources continued with redoubled force under globalization. The moment when vast financial resources could have been directed by developed countries to Africa’s development was ineptly squandered. Now Western countries have a tangle of their own problems, including a migratory inflow from African countries. Western elites, under the false pretexts of a “Russian threat,” the fight against “narco-terrorism,” and the like, have returned to their accustomed groove of militarization—even if this requires taking on debt.
Africa has to rely on its own strength and its traditional friends, the first of which historically is Russia. As noted by the Rector of Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University, Vladimir Litvinenko, in terms of natural wealth, each African—and there are now 1.55 billion of them—is 12–15 times richer than a European or an American. Sovereignty over natural resources is the lever capable of solving the development problems of the entire continent—not only pulling it out of poverty, but also creating a middle class, which will increase Africans’ purchasing power and make their countries truly attractive for foreign investment.
To achieve this goal, it is necessary to develop its own highly qualified personnel. But the educational process must be coupled with real development, which, in fact, took place during Soviet industrialization. Of course, it is necessary to create an effective mechanism of state regulation, including geological exploration, for which national personnel are also needed in order to have a real understanding of one’s natural wealth, as experience shows that data from Western governments and companies cannot be relied upon.
The entire set of these problems is intended to be resolved by Russian–African cooperation in the field of subsoil use. The key mechanisms here are the International Competence Center for Mining Engineering Education, established at Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University and operating under the auspices of UNESCO, and its agreement with the Association of African Universities, signed during the Raw Materials Dialogue. The Association comprises nearly 400 universities in 46 African countries. The agreement will provide a framework for the exchange of best practices to improve the quality of education in the field of mineral resources management.
One of the obstacles to increasing the effectiveness of cooperation is the issue of recognition of Russian diplomas in Africa. It is gradually being resolved. In Russia, 35,000 students from Africa are studying, and their employment at home is facilitated by agreements on the mutual recognition of higher education diplomas, which have already been concluded with 31 of Africa’s 54 countries.
Following the Raw Materials Dialogue, a Declaration was adopted outlining the priorities and ways to ensure the resource sovereignty of African countries. The principles of such a partnership include sovereignty and mutual respect, mutual benefit, and the fair distribution of income from subsoil development, the exchange of knowledge, know-how, and advanced technologies to move from the export of raw materials to the creation of complete production chains with high added value on the African continent itself, and investment in human capital.
The key areas of joint work identified are the development of the mineral resources sector and industrialization, including the creation of “green corridors” for priority investments; the establishment of joint research centers and laboratories, and the conducting of an annual Russia-Africa scientific expedition to study mineral resource potential. To ensure the continuity of the initiated Raw Materials Dialogue, the parties decided to grant it the status of a permanently operating industry platform. It was proposed that the Government of the Russian Federation consider the issue of creating a Coordination Office, entrusting it with the "functions of accumulating information on joint projects, providing comprehensive support to business, and developing coordinated positions".
It can be said that a real plan for the second Liberation of Africa has emerged, in which the decisive role will belong to the African countries themselves and to Russia, which will set fair "rules of the game" for external players—standards that will ensure the continent’s transition from a predominantly agrarian model of development to an industrial one, from “development assistance” to equal partnership. It is clear that the West will have to make room and reduce its consumption of natural resources, which should not be cheap but should serve as a source of growth in the well-being of the peoples of Africa. Global development, which Western dominance has led into a dead end, will only benefit from such a Russian–African partnership.
Alexander Yakovenko, Head of the Committee on Global Problems and International Security of the Scientific and Expert Council of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Deputy Director General of MIA "Rossiya Segodnya".
The original article was published on the website of Expert.