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Cameroon's Pundit on Russian-African Business & Why More of His Compatriots Are Moving North

18:27, 25 April 2024

Christina Glazkova

Writer / Editor

From April 23 to 26, the Russian capital Moscow is hosting the III International Youth Forum “Russia-Africa: What's Next?" which is attended by representatives of various African countries. Sputnik Africa correspondents had the chance to have interviews with some of them.

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Africa represents a continent of business opportunities for Russia, as both Africans and Russians are very similar, and people of the continent are looking forward to doing business with them, Louis Gowend, President of the Cameroonian Diaspora in Russia and Editor-in-Chief at Hello Africa magazine, told Sputnik Africa.

"In Africa [there are] a lot of opportunities for Russians to do business because, actually, African people are like Russian people, and we would really like to do business with Russia," he said.

However, Russians are not yet familiar with the African mentality, and that's why the continent needs to show its "new face" to Russian businessmen, Gowend noted.

"We have to work [on] how to show [...] a new face for Russian business, so they can go there. Because, you know, we have Chinese people going to Africa, people from India and European people; a lot of them are doing business there. That means it's a good opportunity for Russia also," the expert said.

Luckily, this year will give an opportunity for Russians and Africans to get to know and understand each other better and thus increase economic cooperation between the country and the continent since Cameroon is preparing to hold the Cameroon-Russian Economic Forum, Gowend pointed out.

Moreover, by coming to the Russia-Africa Summit last year, Cameroon's President Paul Biya set an example for his compatriots to visit Russia. Thus, more Cameroonians will be visiting the biggest country in the world, the expert believed, adding that his people are "tired" of going to Western countries and want to discover Russia by themselves and not through the lenses of Western media.

"People are tired of going to the West and America and so on, so they want to see something new, and, Russia is a very good partner because the Russian people [treat] very well Africans who are living here. [...] Actually, Russia has a very good image in Africa now, in Cameroon, also. So people want to know what Russia is because they know Russia only through what the media of the West are telling about Russia. [...]. A lot of Africans are not believing the West's media, so they want to come themselves to discover Russia," he explained.

Concluding the interview, Govend left fellow Africans with a simple but encouraging message:

"Please, come to Russia and make business with Russia. This is a very lovely country," he concluded.