‘It’s About Sovereignty and African Unity’: South African Official on Russia-Africa Partnerships

This year’s conference, titled "Realpolitik in a Divided World: Rethinking Russia-South Africa Ties in a Global and African Context," took place in Pretoria, South Africa. The conference, which highlights Russia's commitment to supporting Africa's development goals and was graced by several professionals from Russia and African countries.

Sputnik Africa captured the insights and cogent points from the experts who engaged in the intellectual conversations at the conference. While describing the pivotal role of South Africa as the host of this conference as well as a member of the G20 and BRICS in addressing the concerns of African development, Phumzile Mazibuko, Chief Director, Department of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa, noted that South Africa navigates its ties with Russia and the wider world in a time of global division, shifting alliances, and contested norms.

“This is not just about foreign policy, but it's about sovereignty, African unity, and our continent's prosperous future [....] We are pushing for a new international development funding agreement that resolves historical inequalities while also preparing the global staff to respond to future shocks with resilience. We are truly grateful for Russia's support to all our G20 presidency priorities [....] South Africa is a leading voice advancing continental prosperity through platforms such as African Union, and we do not walk this path alone. We are part of a continent whose strength lies in unity and whose future depends on integration and development. Africa's prosperity cannot be achieved if we allow ourselves to be put into great power conflicts that do not serve the interests of our people. We therefore must focus on a commitment to continental unity, support for the Africa continental free trade area, and a shared vision of a developed and prosperous Africa,” she expressed

Furthermore, in his remarks, the Russian ambassador to South Africa, Roman Abramov, highlighted the significance of engaging in conversations that amplify the Russia-African ties during the event.

“Dear friends, in a nutshell, Russia's official position is clear and simple. Moscow considers South Africa and other African countries as its natural allies and is ready to contribute to the further development of Africa as an authentic and influential center of global development. We believe that Africa is not an arena for yet another geopolitical scramble, but a space of mutually beneficial cooperation. However, some external forces from both sides of the Atlantic seem to be troubled by how Russia-Africa relations have been recently developing in the bilateral and multilateral ways. In our turbulent times, such in-person gatherings of professionals are especially important to debate a lot of timely and challenging questions. One of them is how can Russia and South Africa safeguard and amplify its historical ties. Another would be how BRICS can reproduce and scale up the success of its first fifteen years,” the ambassador noted

This episode also features:

Andrey Bystritsky, Chairman of the Board of the Foundation for Development and Support of the Valdai International Discussion Club

Ms Sanusha Naidu, Senior Research Associate with the Institute for Global Dialogue

Steven Gruzd, Head of African Governance and Diplomacy Program, South African Institute of International Affairs

To listen to the insights of our guests, tune in to the Pan African Frequency podcast, brought to you by Sputnik Africa.