BTA2023 On the sidelines of the conference, Namibia’s Peya Mushelenga, the country’s Minister of International Relations, shared his sentiments on western interference in Africa against Russia’s growing influence on the continent.
He went into detail on how upsetting it is that former Western colonisers are still trying to exploit their old African colonies.
During the event, he spoke to the Russian newspaper Sputnik, highlighting the control the western world is trying to exert on Africa’s security infrastructure and its economy.
“You see them playing a great role in the economic sectors of these countries, not to the benefit of the former colonies, but to the benefit of former colonisers,” he stated.
On the other hand, he noted that Russia’s presence in Africa presents a more mutual dialogue on how both parties can enjoy a beneficial partnership.
“The approach, that one of equal partnership, is what makes Russia an ideal partner for Namibia,” the minister stated.
Mushelenga likewise highlighted Africa’s strong presence at the conference and refuted assumptions of Russia’s international isolation.
“The fact that countries have come here […] it’s self-explanatory that Russia is not isolated from the world,” he stated.
Given his sentiments about Russia’s relationship with Africa, it came as no surprise his assertion on Namibia’s willingness to partner with the Kremlin on nuclear energy and the exploration of Uranium.
The Namibian minister underscored the value of both bilateral and international dialogue after meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
“One of the issues that we talked about is that we do not think that the trade relations between the two countries are at a level of the political cooperation and the good diplomatic relations that the two countries are enjoying. So we are trying to expand trade relations between the two countries,” he concluded.
Russia-Africa Ministerial Conference
The Russia-Africa Ministerial Conference, 2024, is the first iteration of the event, held between the 9th and 10th of November in Sochi, Russia.
During the inaugural Ministerial Conference’s closing ceremony on Sunday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced that the second Russia-Africa Ministerial Conference will be held in Africa, as per Sputnik.
Each country that participated in the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum’s inaugural ministerial session saw how similar their stances are on a variety of subjects, including security.
