At a recent press conference, general director Anatoly Isaykin
confirmed that the firm had revived its contact with all African
countries that used to be traditional buyers of Soviet weaponry. These
include Algeria, Angola Burkina Faso, Botswana, Ethiopia, Libya,
Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Uganda.
Though Russia legitimately sold US$1.1 billion worth of weaponry to
Africa between 2000 and 2007, there are increasing fears that a black
market in arms is reducing any chances of lasting peace on the
continent.
Most concerning is that Russia seems increasingly to be selling
outside official channels to smuggling and contraband rings, thus
sustaining vicious local conflicts, said Bright Simons,
Russian/Sino-African expert at policy think-tank IMANI.
Rosoboronexport's deputy director Viktor Komardin acknowledged that
Africa remains a region of hostilities, but said: In such sensitive
regions we pay a great deal of attention to state politics in our
negotiations. And we always aim to supply weaponry and armaments in
such a way as to avoid upsetting the precarious military and political
balance of each area.''
According to Rosoboronexport's Isaykin, African buyers are attracted to
the reliability and competitive prices'' of Russian arms. They are
also offered flexible terms including the creation of joint ventures
in fishing, mining and oil industries, exclusive rights for exploration
of natural resources, and the trade of traditional goods such as
diamonds, cotton and coffee.
The most popular types of weaponry bought from Russia are Sukhoi and
MiG fighters, air defense systems, battle tanks, armoured personnel
carriers and infantry fighting vehicles. Russian-made helicopters are
also popular. According to various sources, Russia has supplied over
700 helicopters, including Mi-24/35 Hind attack helicopters, to African
countries.
The company is also building its relations with the African Union, based on equipping and training peacemaking forces.
Post published in: Africa News