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Expert: BRICS Presents 'More Desirable' Platform for Africa as West No Longer 'Reliable'

© SERGIO LIMABrazil's President Jair Bolsonaro (R) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) attend to a meeting with members of the Business Council and management of the New Development Bank during the BRICS Summit in Brasilia, November 14, 2019
Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro (R) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) attend to  a meeting with members of the Business Council and management of the New Development Bank during the BRICS Summit in Brasilia, November 14, 2019 - Sputnik Africa, 1920, 21.04.2023
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Earlier this week, President of the Central African Republic’s (CAR) Economic and Social Council Alfred Tainga Poloko stated that the World Bank (WB) refused budget support for the country over its cooperation with Russia. He stated the CAR will increase its interaction with Russia in order to compensate for the losses following the WB's decision.
Commenting on a recent World Bank decision to deny budget support for the CAR due to its cooperation with Russia, Demba Moussa Dembele, Senegalese economist, researcher, author of several books on the African economy, told Sputnik that the US and its partners will continue to use their influence to penalize those who cooperate with Russia, adding that the CAR is not the first case.

"It is certain that the United States and its allies will use their control of the World Bank and the IMF to dissuade them from granting credits to countries deemed to be in favor of close cooperation with Russia or China. But the Central African Republic is not the only country in this situation," he emphasized. "Mali was a victim of this policy when ECOWAS imposed sanctions at the instigation of France in 2022."

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, shakes hands with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni during their meeting on the sideline of Russia-Africa summit in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2019.  - Sputnik Africa, 1920, 20.04.2023
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He also emphasized that the West's influence on the continent is gradually decreasing.

"Western influence in Africa is declining politically and economically," he said. "This is why the vast majority of African countries refused to condemn the Russian military operation in Ukraine."

In October 2022, the United Nations General Assembly voted to condemn Russia for holding referendums in the Donbass, Kherson, and Zaporozhye regions.
The economist also mentioned that China, Russia, and the other members of the BRICS bloc represent an increasingly important alternative source of financing for most African countries.

"The New Development Bank (NBD) and other BRICS banks are more credible and reliable alternatives," the expert emphasized. "For example, in many countries where there are infrastructure projects, Chinese banks are the main source of financing."

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a working lunch during the US Africa Leaders Summit at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022. - Sputnik Africa, 1920, 20.04.2023
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According to Dembele, Western countries, and the United States in particular, not only provide less financing, but have become a threat to the assets of the countries of the so-called Global South.

"They [Western nations] tend to steal or confiscate the assets of these countries. We have seen the freezing of more than $300 billion of Russia's assets by Western countries. We have seen the theft of part of Afghanistan's assets by the United States. We have also seen the theft or confiscation of Venezuela's assets by the US and the UK," the expert stressed.

He concluded that BRICS is now becoming a more desirable platform, being more trustworthy in comparison to Western ones.

"Western countries and their institutions can no longer be reliable sources of funding for African countries and most countries of the South. This is why the latter are increasingly turning to the BRICS," the expert outlined.

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