Rescue friend: dozens of African countries are seeking Russia's help in the fight against terrorism

The largest market in Eastern and Southern Africa, COMESA, is seeking Russian support to ensure internal security. Moscow could send military specialists and share technologies in the fight against terrorism, the organization told Izvestia. Armed groups operate en masse in these countries, which actually disrupts trade, logistics and investments. According to experts, the previous formats of cooperation with the Europeans have disappointed the African states, and they are looking for new partners. In addition, Russia may join the development of the COMESA digital payment platform for settlements in local currencies. This will expand the access of domestic companies to the markets of 21 countries with a population of more than 600 million people.

How Russia can help Africa in the fight against terrorism

Security remains one of the most painful topics for African States. The countries of the largest trade and economic association on the continent, COMESA, are interested in Russia's experience, Oita Etiang, head of the organization's governance, peace and security program, told Izvestia. According to him, the association counts on Moscow's support in the fight against terrorism, transnational crime and other threats.

— Yes, support could be in the form of technical assistance, when Russian experts come to our participating countries and help them analyze such challenges, use new technologies to identify these security threats, and prepare them to respond. That is, to understand how to respond to these challenges," he said, answering a question about the possible training of African military personnel.

Representatives of the organization came to Russia for the International Security Forum, which was held on May 26-29 under the auspices of the Russian Security Council. The event was attended by over 140 foreign delegations from more than 120 countries. Africa was widely represented: according to the organizers, 50 of the 54 countries of the continent sent their representatives.

It is for the COMESA countries that security issues are particularly relevant. Instability on the continent, frequent regional conflicts and a large number of terrorist groups do not allow for the full development of national economies.

The association represents the entire common market of Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA stands for Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa). It now includes 21 countries, including DR Congo, Egypt, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, Tunisia, Uganda and Ethiopia. Some of these countries are regularly forced to fight armed groups either in their own country or on the territory of a neighbor.

Al-Shabab, affiliated with al-Qaeda, operates in Somalia, as well as the local wing of the Islamic State (all of these organizations are included in the list of terrorists and extremists and are banned in the Russian Federation). In the east of DR Congo, the ADF (associated with ISIS), which is associated with ISIS, and the M23 are active — the provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri are suffering from their actions. There has been a civil war in Sudan since 2023, which threatens the entire regional security. In addition, many African countries have long been familiar with the problems of cross-border crime and cybercrime.

Mozambique is a good example of how terrorism affects the economy. Although the country is not a member of the COMESA, the situation in the province of Cabo Delgado represents a common scenario for the region. Due to attacks by Islamist militants, TotalEnergies stopped the Mozambique LNG project worth about $20 billion in 2021. It took several years to restart, and the cost increased by billions of dollars. For neighboring African countries, this resulted in the loss of jobs, tax revenues and investor confidence. Obviously, COMESA would like to avoid such a collapse.

Russia has significant experience in countering such threats, said Maya Nikolskaya, Head of the Africa in the Focus of Russian Interests program at MGIMO. We can talk about various training programs, including on the prevention of radicalization and the prevention of terrorist activity.

— First of all, it is the training of local specialists. This is how knowledge and practical experience are transferred. The focus of attention may be not only technical solutions, but also methods of working with the population in areas of increased terrorist activity, such as public notification systems," the expert emphasized.

Moscow is already actively countering terrorist groups in Africa and is strengthening security cooperation with the Sahel states, including Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, as well as with the Central African Republic. These countries have long relied on the French military presence, but then Paris was forced to curtail its operations and withdraw troops due to the protest of national governments.

The activities of the French contingents have not led to stabilization in the region. Local authorities have become more active in looking for new security partners. According to Nikolskaya, the existing formats of cooperation with European states no longer satisfy many African countries, so they are interested in expanding the network of external partnerships.

Trade cooperation between the Russian Federation and COMESA

At the same time, competition for Africa is intensifying not only in the field of security, but also in trade. Europe remains one of the continent's key partners, but its position is gradually weakening: after the peak of 2022, the EU's trade turnover with Africa declined and has actually stagnated in recent years — in total, it decreased by about 13% in 2022-2025. At the same time, the role of Asian countries, primarily China and India, is growing, which opens up additional opportunities for Russia, given the close partnership.

Currently, COMESA is interested in cooperation with the Russian Federation in its direct profile, which is economic. The parties can jointly develop a new digital payment platform of the association — the Digital Retail Payments Platform, a system for cross—border settlements in local currencies. Its launch will help reduce dependence on dollar payments and reduce costs for small and medium-sized businesses. The pilot is already operating between Malawi and Zambia, and it is planned to expand to other countries of the association. According to Etiyang, COMESA can connect external players to the platform.

— Yes, this is a direction that we could use. <...> Since the association acts as a trade organization, such a platform will give the population of the region the opportunity to trade more actively. This is an area where Russia could support COMESA in terms of developing a regional digital payment platform," he said.

For the Russian Federation, participation in the development of such an infrastructure could become an additional channel of access to the countries of the association. Firstly, it is the largest market in Eastern and Southern Africa with a population of over 600 million people. Secondly, these countries need more food, fertilizers, energy and infrastructure solutions. Third, settlements in national currencies will reduce the role of Western financial infrastructure in trade with Africa.

"I see a mutual benefit in this: we would not only develop our own infrastructure, but Russia would also gain access to the markets provided by COMESA," Etiang said.

Russia has already significantly increased trade with African countries. Over the past five years, Russia's trade with the countries of the continent has grown by more than 60%, from $16.8 billion to $27.7 billion. According to Sergey Katyrin, head of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI), $50 billion is expected by the end of the decade. The growth is provided precisely by the supply of food, mineral fertilizers, energy resources, as well as mechanical engineering and chemical industry products.

KOMESA's interest in Russia is quite natural. The fight against terrorism and transnational crime, in which Moscow can help, should reduce the risks to trade and infrastructure, and the digital payment platform should link all this into a single effective mechanism. For the Russian Federation, this is a very tangible prospect to gain a foothold in the market of 21 African countries, and for the countries of the association, to get a new reliable partner.