By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
While analysing several reports after the collapse of the Soviet era, thus opening a new chapter in relations with and the strategic importance for Africa, it is very noticeable to count only on finger tips women who devoted their [proactive] energy and enthusiastic power to strengthening relations between Russia and Africa.
It is well-known the Soviet-African relations’ historical and chronological stages, its evolutionary processes from Soviet times and the post-Soviet period until today. Russia is showing increasing its influence in Africa. Conferences, meetings and forums proliferate both ways, attracting quite a number of dignitaries from government, ministries, departments, institutions and agencies.
Women’s role in Russian-African relations has equally fundamental significance, an aspect that arguably has to be taken into serious account. With this in mind, there is the necessity to share views and thoughts on existing challenges and opportunities, and other pertinent issues affecting women and development of relations between Russia and Africa. We are also categorically referring to the topic of women’s empowerment in politics, economy and social spheres, as well as on international stage.
There are three women who came to mind: the Chairwoman of the Federation Council, Valentina Matviyenko, then South African Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma and Tanzanian Stergomena Lawrence Tax.
Japanese trained and educated Stergomena Tax, in her career, became the as the Executive Secretary of the Southern African Development Community [SADC]. She visited moscow a couple of times, but her attempts in bring SADC closer to Russia saw little results. Until today, the regional organisation SADC has a very weak relations with the Russian Federation.
Author of this article, in a long-ranging interview in October 2018 with the Executive Secretary of the Southern African Development Community, Stergomena Tax, discussed aspects of SADC-Russia’s economic cooperation. She also focused on strategies and challenges as well as future perspectives. One distinctive phrase she told me was “Russia has a long history of bilateral engagements with the Southern African countries, which constitute the Southern African Development Community, a Regional Economic Community [REC].”
According to her, it was difficult obviously to speak for Russia, but the general overview of why international partners and investors would consider SADC an attractive or strategic investment partner, the region is peaceful and stable. The southern African states have largely relied on multilateral and regional development financial institutions to fund their development projects, which Russia could not provide and guaranteed.
In the case of Nkosazana Zuma, she still remains an indisputable trailblazer in the uplifting and empowerment of women. Her career as a struggle activist and politician is testimony to her indestructible and courageous spirit. In 1999, then President Thabo Mbeki appointed Nkosazana Zuma as Minister of Foreign Affairs.
In this role, she actively championed South Africa’s foreign policy which centred on the promotion of human rights, stability, peace, collective development and advancement of this continent. It was during her tenure as Minister of Foreign Affairs that the African Union was launched in 2002.
In July 2012, Nkosazana Zuma was elected Chairperson of the African Union Commission. This was a major achievement in the sense that a woman and indeed a candidate of the southern region was successfully elected to this high post. She dealing with Russia, to promote Russia-Africa affairs was only short-lived. She is credited primarily due to the fact that there is a longstanding ties between Russia and South Africa.
Across Africa and in Russia, at least, the single woman who stands tall among women on several countless platforms is Professor Irina O. Abramova. Comparatively, Russian-African gatherings bring together women speakers and participants to panel sessions and discussions, the conferences offered the platform for interactions, socialisation and networking.
Professor Irina O. Abramova, Director of the Institute for African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences [RAS]. She took over the directorship in 2016 from Professor Alexey Mikhailovich Vasilyev, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences [RAS] and the Honorary President of the Institute for African Studies [IAS].
Earlier in 2011, she successfully presented her thesis on “Africa’s Resource Potential in the World Economy of the 21st Century” at the Institute for Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences and obtained a D.Sc. degree in International Economics. Abramova is the author of over 250 academic works, including 10 monographs, among them – “The New Role of Africa in the Global Economy in the 21st Century.”
Abramova actively cooperates with higher education institutions of Moscow and St. Petersburg, successfully combining academic and pedagogical activity and sharing her knowledge and experience with students of Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russian State University for the Humanities, RUDN University and St. Petersburg University.
There are principally two directions: policy advocacy and academic works.
(a) Over the years, Abramova since her appointment ad director of the Institute of African Studies, she has passed through the boardroom experiences, panel sessions, group brainstorming sessions and numerous presentations among others. She has shared very insightful thoughts with both Russians and Africans. These are politicians, academics, researchers, corporate business executives and ordinary citizens. It is worthy to note her display of moderating huge conferences attended by high-level dignitaries including African leaders with Russian President Vladimir Putin. (See the attached cover photograph).
Abramova moderated, since its inception in 2018, special African sessions at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum [SPIEF]. The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, popularly referred to as SPIEF, brings together international business leaders, government officials and representatives of expert and media communities to discuss various topics and jointly search for effective solutions to the most pressing challenges in Russian and global economies.
Kestér Kenn Klomegâh is an Int’l Affairs Analyst.
