The recent visit of Speaker of the Federation Council of Russia Valentina Matvienko to Algiers was "beneficial" and "proves the good relations between Algeria and Russia," Cheraitia Ayoub, a member of the Budget and Finance Committee of the Algerian parliament, says in an interview with Sputnik.
According to him, cooperation between the two countries is "now much more political than before" and economic development remains "the next objective" for Russian-Algerian relations. Making a case for this, Ayoub cites Algeria's official request to join BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa).
The MP also notes that he regrets the fact that the trade figures between Russia and Africa amount to only $20 billion against $200 billion between Africa and China.
"There is potential to do much more in industry, in agronomy, and especially in the digital economy," Ayoub explains.
Towards the Next Russia-Africa Summit
As for the upcoming Russia-Africa Summit, set for July, the MP says he is sure that it will be "beneficial for everyone," because "we will sooner or later move towards a new multipolar world" without "monopolism."
The example of the "monopolism," he says, is the SWIFT banking system, which is currently being used by the West as an economic "weapon of war" to impose sanctions.
"What we really expect is to launch a new banking system outside of SWIFT," notes the MP.
Speaking about the changes that have occurred in international trade, the lawmaker welcomes the "reliable commitments" given by Vladimir Putin on the export of wheat to poor countries and in particular Moscow's desire to do so free of charge.
"That's a very good thing. And also, Africa tends to change its orientation from Western Europe to Russia. Algeria is an example. France was the first exporter of wheat to Algeria, the situation has now changed: Algeria currently imports much more from Russia than from other countries," Ayoub concludes.