Africa has every chance to become a leading continent, Special Representative of the Russian President for the Middle East and African Countries, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, told Russian media following the results of the first ministerial conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum in Russia's Sochi.
"There are very positive processes going on. And self-awareness is growing, and, indeed, people are educated; people are politicized in a good sense. And now the main goal is to strengthen sovereignty. Moreover, sovereignty is connected with the economic and political aspect, and we are ready to help in every way in this," he stated.
Bogdanov noted that the continent's development processes are gaining momentum, observing that many countries are freeing themselves from the "intrusive dictate" and "neocolonial habits" of the West, leading to a growing awareness of the need to strengthen state sovereignty. This, he added, requires economic autonomy and independence, which ultimately strengthens political sovereignty.
Speaking about Russia-Africa relations, he reminded that Russia has already written off Africa's debts worth 20 billion dollars.
"We now have a refinancing program to refocus debts on development projects," he said.