Russia is a priority in Equatorial Guinea's foreign policy, and the countries have always sought to strengthen, expand and diversify cooperation against the background of problems in the field of food, health, economy or in the fight against transnational organized crime, which poses a huge threat to both Equatorial Guinea and Russia, for the world as a whole, Equatorial Guinea's Ambassador to Russia Luciano Nkogo Ndong Ayecaba told Sputnik.
According to the ambassador, the main reason why Africa is facing economic, financial, food, energy and other problems is the injustice of the international economic order, as developed economies are changing their monetary policy to reflect their own interests.
He added that Malabo recognizes and welcomes the efforts and active role that Russia plays in strengthening peace, security and stability in the world in general and in Africa in particular.
The diplomat stressed Russia not only provided valuable assistance to African nations in achieving freedom and independence during the colonial period, but to this day, Russian initiatives to achieve peace, stability and security, which Africa craves, continue to be welcomed on the continent.
Many African countries have suffered from instability, hunger, forced displacement and other disasters that cause conflicts of various levels for decades, while now, thanks to Russia, stability reigns in these countries, said the ambassador.
He noted that Equatorial Guinea has been closely following all the developments that have taken place since the beginning of the Ukraine conflict.
He stressed that his country is a free state, which is friends with many countries, while there are those like Russia and China which are "close friends". Ayecaba, however, denied Western media claims that China is planning to establish a military base in Equatorial Guinea.
The ambassador outlined many points of contact with Russia, including in the economic sphere, and also drew attention to those areas in which the African country would like to cooperate with Russia.
For example, according to him, Russia could create pharmaceutical hubs in Equatorial Guinea and in the Gulf of Guinea in general to provide medicine to the countries of the region so that Gabon and Cameroon could also immediately buy pharmaceuticals.
He added that now Equatorial Guinea does not produce medicines, and also noted the problems associated with supplies from Europe. According to him, after sending money for medicines, it may take a month for the supplier (for example, from Italy or France) to receive this money.
Ayecaba also stressed that Equatorial Guinea needs specialists from Russia, including doctors, adding that if an interstate agreement is needed for this, the African country is ready to consider this issue.
He noted that earlier, the countries enjoyed fruitful cooperation in the fishing sector. Equatorial Guinea has a huge sea that needs to be explored and exploited, and Russia could help its African partner in this ambitious project as a historical friend, Ayecaba said.
In the 1970s, the Soviet Union and Equatorial Guinea signed a number of agreements concerning fishing rights.
Furthermore, the ambassador stated that his country invites companies from Russia to participate in the development of oil and gas fields. He also emphasized that the country is interested in both businessmen who want to explore for oil its gold, as well as in training personnel in that sphere.
He called for increasing increased the quotas for students from Equatorial Guinea in Russiabecause in this way the Russian Federation will be able to "expand its influence" on the African continent. In 2023, Russia increased the quotas for students from the African country in Russian universities to 30, but more places are needed, he underlined.
Ayecaba has also stressed that in a bid to strengthen cooperation between the two countries in key areas of mutual interest, such as security and defense, especially the fight against maritime piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, president of Equatorial Guinea Obiang Nguema Mbasogo plans to take part in the second Russia–Africa Summit after participating in the first event of the kind in 2019.
The second Russia–Africa Summit and Economic Forum will be held on July 26-29, 2023 in St. Petersburg. The first such summit was held in Sochi in 2019 and resulted in the outlining of a series of aims and objectives for future collaboration between Russia and the continent in areas including politics, security, economics, science, technology, culture, and the humanitarian field.