Treasure Island: Putin called Madagascar one of Russia's important partners in Africa
Vladimir Putin received the new President of Madagascar, Michael Randrianirina, in the Kremlin on February 19. This is his first trip abroad outside of Africa. The Russian leader stressed that Madagascar is one of Russia's key partners in the African sector. According to experts interviewed by Izvestia, Moscow and Antananarivo are likely to focus on strengthening political dialogue, and may also consider cooperation in the military-technical sphere and mining.
Meeting between Putin and the President of Madagascar
Mikael Randrianirina's visit to Moscow took place against the backdrop of the tropical cyclones Fitiya and Gezani that hit Madagascar, which injured over 270 thousand people and killed more than 40. Russia has provided humanitarian assistance to the African country. Vladimir Putin began the meeting with his colleague with words of condolences.
— I would like to thank you for the invitation to come to the Russian Federation. This is a great country, and we hope that you can help us during such a difficult period for Madagascar due to the cyclones you mentioned," said Mikael Randrianirina.
Interestingly, the delegation from the island arrived in Moscow on a Russian plane. Vladimir Putin stressed that Madagascar is one of Russia's key partners in the African sector. The meeting of the leaders on both sides was attended by the foreign ministers, defense ministers, finance ministers, as well as government members responsible for energy and mining.
— We have many interesting areas of cooperation.: These include agriculture, geological exploration, energy, medicine, healthcare, education — your young people are being trained in higher educational institutions in Russia, many have already received higher education and good qualifications. We are ready to develop these relations in the humanitarian sphere further," the Russian president noted.
A new era is beginning in cooperation between Russia and Madagascar, said Lyubov Demidova, Chairman of the Board of the Strategic Agency for the Development of Relations with African Countries. The effectiveness of the interaction will depend on the clarity of the goals and objectives set and the coherence of the work of both sides, the analyst believes.
— As for the mining sector, the Government of Madagascar has decided to resume issuing permits for the development of most types of minerals. Nickel, cobalt, graphite and ilmenite remain the key export items, and the Ambatovy nickel-cobalt plant remains the country's flagship project, which continues to attract large foreign investments," she told Izvestia.
According to her, this area opens up good prospects for Russia, but subject to a competent, integrated approach with a clearly defined strategy for cooperation. This will require large investments from the Russian Federation and guarantees of their safety and return from Madagascar.
"Mica mining is another area in demand. Madagascar has quite large mica deposits, which have previously aroused the interest of Russian business," Demidova said.
In addition, the expert stressed that there is a great opportunity to organize and deploy a naval base on the island.
Madagascar is a friendly country in the Indian Ocean basin for the Russian Federation, potentially of great geostrategic importance, said Vsevolod Sviridov, Deputy Director of the HSE Center for African Studies. In addition, it is a promising sales market for a wide range of Russian exports, including energy resources, agricultural products, chemical industry and mechanical engineering.
"In the near future, the parties are likely to focus on strengthening political dialogue, and may also consider developing relations in the military-technical sphere," he told Izvestia.
The situation in Madagascar
For Madagascar, strengthening relations with Russia is one of the elements of overcoming the partial international isolation in which the new authorities found themselves after the coup that took place in the fall of 2025, Vsevolod Sviridov notes.
— The trip to Russia was Mikael Randrianirina's first official visit outside of Africa. In January, he visited South Africa to settle relations with his neighbors in the region, members of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The choice of the destination for the first visit outside of Africa indicates the priority that the new authorities of Madagascar attach to relations with Russia," he explained.
At the end of September, mass protests took place in Madagascar due to water and electricity outages, which led to the deaths of dozens of people. Against this background, President Andri Radzuellina left the country, and Colonel Mikael Randrianirina was declared head of state. On October 14, the lower house of Parliament voted to impeach Radzuelina. A few days later, Randrianirina took the oath of office as President of the Republic for the transitional period.
"A lot of efforts will have to be made to restore the country's economy, social security, education and infrastructure, and the President of Madagascar is asking for help from various countries, especially investors," one of the journalists accompanying Randrianirina told Izvestia.
Now the situation has generally stabilized. The very fact of the president's two-day trip to Russia demonstrates his confidence in the relative stability of the situation, Vsevolod Sviridov notes. The authorities have proposed a concept for a transitional period and are trying to build relations with regional partners, but the continuing difficult socio-economic situation and the fact that the political system is still in search of an acceptable configuration do not allow us to completely rule out a scenario of repeated destabilization, the analyst concluded.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
