Russia says it plans to boost economic and military cooperation with Africa

Russia is stepping up cooperation with African countries, including in defence and security, the Kremlin said on Monday. 

"We really intend to comprehensively develop our interaction with African countries, focusing primarily on economic and investment interaction", Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.

"This also corresponds to and extends to such sensitive areas as defence and security. In this regard, Russia will also continue interaction and cooperation with African states."

Russia’s role in Africa’s security came under greater scrutiny after mercenary group Wagner announced last week it was leaving Mali.

Wagner had been deployed in Mali since December 2021 and had been repeatedly accused of human rights abuses.

Following Wagner's failed mutiny in 2023, and the suspicious death of the group's founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, Moscow restructured military operations in Africa and founded the Africa Corps.

The Kremlin-controlled paramilitary force will remain in Mali after Wagner's departure.

“There is a void in the Sahel left by the departure of Western states, especially by the French, the United States, and other European countries", said analyst Rida Lyammouri, from the Morocco-based Policy Center for the New South.

"So this is an opportunity for Russia that is going to cost them basically almost nothing. Not nothing, but it's an easy win that it's not going to require a lot of resources to be mobilized to exert that influence in the region."

Governments in the Sahel region turned to Russian-controlled armed forces to help battle fighters linked with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. 

Armed groups in Mali have inflicted heavy losses on Malian troops and Russian mercenaries.

The al-Qaeda linked jihadist group Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) killed dozens of soldiers in an attack on a military base this month. Militants also killed dozens of Wagner mercenaries in northern Mali last July.

“Russia’s presence through its mercenary group Wagner in Mali is different than its presence in Burkina Faso and Niger. In Mali, Wagner are fighting with the Malian military, side by side", said Lyammouri.

"They have helped them to recapture northern regions from rebels groups, but at the same time they continue to struggle in [the] fight against JNIM and the Islamic State [in the Sahara] as we have seen in recent weeks with the repeated attacks in the different parts of the country.” 

Despite Western sanctions, Russia is using cargo ships to send sophisticated weaponry to West African countries, including tanks, armored vehicles and artillery. 

Satellites images reviewed by Associated Press found that ships carrying weapons docked and unloaded in Conakry, Guinea, in late May.

Russia and China are the top arms suppliers to the continent.