John C. K. Daly
On February 19, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov provided an overview of Russian foreign policy to the State Duma in Moscow, telling legislators that after a period of disengagement following the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia is “re-engaging” with Africa. Russia hosted the inaugural Russia-Africa Partnership Forum with more than 1,500 delegates and state officials convening in Sochi in November 2024 (Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, November 10, 2024). The Forum was convened pursuant to the second Russia-Africa Summit in 2023 in St. Petersburg, which focused on economic and humanitarian cooperation (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, February 19; Russia-Africa, accessed April 28). The Soviet Union had a long-standing interest in East Africa, with close partners in Somalia and Ethiopia (Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, May 6, 1977, August 10, 2007). As post-Soviet Russia revives its presence in Africa, its efforts have broadened to include Eritrea, Sudan, South Sudan, Kenya, and Egypt. In 2024, Russian troops were deployed to Burkina Faso and Mali, and at least four African states began negotiating the construction of nuclear power plants using Russian technology (see EDM, March 18, 2024; Russian Council for International Affairs, February 10).
Russia’s revived East Africa policies have a prominent military component, including an arrangement with Sudan to establish a naval base at Port Sudan on its Red Sea coast (see EDM, November 14, 2023, March 6). On February 12, Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Youssef Ahmed al-Sharif confirmed the agreement during a press conference in Moscow, stating that there are no obstacles to its implementation (RBC, February 12). The base will solidify Russia’s strategic reach across Africa and the Middle East by offering direct access to the Red Sea, a chokepoint that links the eastern Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean via the Suez Canal (see EDM, March 6).
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