27- July-2023- News Agencies
African leaders What can they change Russia’s decision withdrawal from the Black Sea grain deal ?
Putin’s withdrawal from the Black Sea Initiative is expected to hit food prices heavily again, particularly in developing nations such as in Africa, where rising food and fuel prices have led to an outcry in Uganda , Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda and elsewhere
Russia’s decision to terminate the Black Sea Initiative on July 17, 2023, ended a “lifeline” for hundreds of millions worldwide facing hunger and spiralling food costs, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said.
For Putin, the low attendance of African leaders will be a devastating setback since he had hoped for a strong African show of solidarity to demonstrate the world that despite severe western sanctions imposed on Russia for its war with the Ukraine, he is not isolated.
Just recently, Putin said Russia will replace exports of Ukrainian grain to Africa and keep supplying the continent with food and fertiliser, despite sanctions. According to Putin, Russia shipped 11.5 million metric tons of grain to Africa in 2022, and the first half of 2023 saw the delivery of about 10 million metric tons.
Among those attending are Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, Senegal’s President Macky Sall and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
Assimi Goita of Mali and Faustin-Archange Touadera of the Central African Republic, both of whom depend on the Russian mercenary firm Wagner for their political survival, are also expected to arrive in St. Petersburg.
Putin on a charm offensive as Russia-Africa summit kicks off
Vladimir Putin in on a charm offensive. On Thursday, the Russian president will roll out the red carpet for African leaders as he seeks to shore up Moscow’s position in a continent that’s becoming increasingly important to his country’s geopolitical ambitions.
Alongside the war in Ukraine, food security will be high on the agenda of the second Africa-Russia Summit in St Petersburg, especially after Russia’s decision last week to withdraw from an international grain deal left many in Africa unnerved.
The agreement was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last year to allow the safe passage of agricultural goods through Ukraine’s ports in the Black Sea despite the war with Russia. While the vast majority of the nearly 33 million tonnes exported since then did not reach the world’s poorest countries, the deal helped reverse spiralling food prices by more than 20 percent, according to the UN.
Moscow has always dreamed of an alternative financial and commercial system that is disconnected from the West – something that is now even more urgent given sanctions on Russia,” said Alex Vines, lead of the African Programme at Chatham House, referring to the sweeping measures imposed by Western countries following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year.
“And Africa becomes important in this as Russia looks for new partnerships,” Vines added.
Russian officials have said that Putin, at the summit, will address the issue of food and fertilizers, as well as hold bilateral discussions with African leaders
In St Petersburg, the African leaders are also expected to be more assertive in their diplomatic efforts to find a resolution to the war in Ukraine – a conflict largely perceived in the continent as an internal European matter which has, however, greater ramifications including on countries in Africa.
Last month, representatives of six African countries visited both Russia and Ukraine in an effort to mediate in the war, but their proposals were largely dismissed by both sides.
Still, analysts say African leaders, who represent the biggest bloc at the UN General Council, have travelled to St Petersburg aware of their increased geostrategic stock in the face of growing competition between Russia and the United States on a number of fronts.
“African stakeholders are increasingly bullish about what they have to offer to the world and can pick for a growing range of suitors,” said Ronak Gopaldas, director at Signal Risk, an African risk advisory firm.
Their goal will be to diversify their economic and political relationships for maximum strategic benefit, while also looking for tangible results beyond cosmetic pledges, he added
“African states are attempting to be kingmakers, rather than be caught in another proxy war,” Gopaldas noted
