Africa sees Russia as a serious guarantor of stability and security, and Moscow is not afraid of and ready for fair competition on the continent, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said.
"Judging by the reaction of African partners, there is a growing demand for our country's assistance in the Sahara-Sahel zone and, more broadly, throughout the continent," Mikhail Bogdanov told Russian media.
He noted that global interest in Africa is now high and growing, as it is the "continent of the future" with "truly inexhaustible natural and human resources" as well as an "increasingly large and, in some respects, high-margin market."
"Therefore, the rivalry of external actors for a 'place under the African sun' is not insignificant, and in addition to the traditional contenders represented by the states of the 'collective West,' it involves more and more representatives of the 'global East and South:' China, India, Turkey, the countries of the Persian Gulf, Southeast Asia, Latin America," he added.
The official stressed that Russia categorically rejects attempts by the West to tell Africans with whom they can and cannot do business. Fortunately, he noted, Africans themselves are increasingly firmly rejecting such neocolonial attempts.
The United States is losing approval in Africa, while Russia strengthened its position in the approval rating by 8% last year, and Chine received the most approval on the continent, data published by the American polling agency Gallup showed.
Africa will receive "a lot of sanity, economic development, socio-political development" from cooperation with Russia, Lere Amusan, a professor of International Relations from Bowen University, Nigeria, and an extraordinary professor at the North West University, South Africa, told Sputnik Africa earlier. He also noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin is "a friend of Africa" and "a friend of South-South relations."