Some experts have predicted that the trade turnover between Russia and Africa would double within the next three years.
The experts made the prediction at the ongoing 2019 African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) Annual Meeting AAM2019 held in Moscow, Russia on Thursday.
The Managing Director of Afreximbank’s Intra-African Trade Initiative, Mr Kanayo Awani, said the total export volume of both countries in 2018 grew by 18 per cent and reached 17.5 billion dollars.
He said the volume of their non-energy non-commodity exports within the same period also grew to 14.3 billion dollars.
According to him, Egypt, the Republic of South Africa, Zambia, Angola, Algeria, Nigeria, and Kenya are key African consumers of Russian non-commodity exports.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Russian Export Centre (REC), Andrey Slepnev said: “The African continent currently has enormous potential as a sales market.
“Many African countries are enacting economic reforms, demand is growing for high-quality and competitive products.
“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.”
According to Slepnev, a Russian Industrial Zone is currently being built in Egypt’s Suez Canal Economic Zone which is the first such infrastructure megaproject innaugurated by the Russian Export Centre (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 problem or addressing any issue.
“In the next five years, this 525-hectare area will be transformed into a comprehensive industrial park for Russian companies.
“Also, in the future, the Russian Industrial Zone will serve as an outpost for promoting Russian goods and services in Africa.”
