Russia has seized the opportunity to trade with African countries directly amid Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, Russian Foreign Ministry Ambassador-at-Large Oleg Ozerov said during a roundtable entitled "International Cooperation Russia-Africa".
According to him, Moscow has embarked on massive cooperation with the continent under unique geopolitical conditions.
"Since we have been cut off from all opportunities for partnerships by Western countries, we are developing new forms of cooperation. I want to say that the economic collapse in Russia, expected by West, will not happen. Many companies left, but now they are being displaced by Russian ones. In fact, this contributes to the growth of our economy," Ozerov highlighted.
He pointed to the advantages of working with African countries, and he believes that Russia can safely enter African markets for both exports and imports.
"Growing demand in Africa can be a catalyst for diversifying domestic exports and increasing the production of highly processed goods," the ambassador noted.
Talking about the development of international trade, during a recent meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, he stressed that Moscow supports the idea of using yuan in trade with Africa.
According to experts, this measure will curtail Africa's and Russia's reliance on US dollar and protect economies of African states under sanctions.
For the last few years, Russia has been boosting cooperation with Africa in various spheres such as security, logistics, mining, trade, and so forth. In summer of this year, the second Russia-Africa summit will take place in St. Petersburg, Russia, among other things, aimed at buttressing economic cooperation with African nations.
Moreover, the BRICS bloc (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) seems appealing to African nations. For example, Zimbabwe recently announced that the country would like to join BRICS as this union is transparent and does not have any deep-seated ideological doctrines that may affect the cooperation of member states.