Russia-African trade volume to hit $17.5bn – Experts

Experts have predicted that the trade turnover between Russia and Africa would double in the next three years.

Last year, the total export volume of Russia and African countries grew by 18% and reached USD 17.5 billion.

Managing Director of Afreximbank’s Intra-African Trade Initiative, Kanayo Awani and Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt, Gamal Mohamed Abdel-Aziz Negm disclosed this on Thursday in Moscow during a panel discussion at the Afreximbank’s Annual Meetings taking place at the Raddison Raddison Collection Hotel in Russia.

The economic experts said that the volume of non-energy non-commodity exports grew to USD 14.3 billion. Egypt, the Republic of South Africa, Zambia, Angola, Algeria, Nigeria, and Kenya are key African consumers of Russian non-commodity exports.

One of the key focal points of the discussion at the event was the strengthening of trade and economic relations between Russia and Africa.

The Afreximbank Strategy for Export Trading Companies was launched in Moscow during the open Russia–Africa Economic Conference, part of the Afreximbank Annual Meetings with the support of the Roscongress Foundation and Russian Export Center.

Also speaking the Chief Executive Officer of the Russian Export Center (REC) Andrey Slepnev, said that the African continent currently has enormous potential as a sales market.

According to him, many African countries are enacting economic reforms, demand is growing for high-quality, competitive products.

He said, “Russian businesses are interested in this niche, and our goods are already competitive in terms of price and quality. We plan to increase export volumes in the next few years.”

Slepnev disclosed that “a Russian Industrial Zone is currently being built in Egypt’s Suez Canal Economic Zone. This is the first such infrastructure megaproject launched by the Russian Export Center (part of VEB.RU).

“Residents of the industrial zone will have several key advantages: proximity to vital transport canals, a number of trade agreements with Egypt, maximally simplified business regulations, and a single point of contact for solving any problems or addressing any issues.

In the next five years, this 525-hectare area will be transformed into a comprehensive industrial park for Russian companies. In the future, the Russian Industrial Zone will serve as an outpost for promoting Russian goods and services in Africa.”