Ukraine embassies will be open in more Africa countries as announce by Ukraine government on Thursday and hold a summit with leaders from the continent, where Russia is also launching a diplomatic offensive.
“We recently adopted the first Africa strategy and deepened political dialogue with many countries on the continent,” Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in a statement on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of its predecessor of the AU.
“This year we will establish new embassies in different parts of the continent and plan to hold the first Ukraine-Africa Summit. I invite the leaders of your countries to join this very important conference.”
He added, “We want to develop a new quality partnership based on three common principles: mutual respect, mutual benefit and mutual benefit.
Kuleba is currently on tour in Africa, where he from Addis Ababa on Wednesday urged Ukraine’s “African friends” to end their declaration of neutrality in the war.
He is due to arrive in Rwanda on Thursday. Details of the tour were not disclosed.
Russia has ties with African countries, including their current leaders, dating back to the Cold War, when the Soviet Union presented itself as an anti-colonial defender.
Afica-Russia- Conference, the second in the series, will be hosted in July 26 to 29 St. Petersburg
In February, 22 of the 54 African Union member states abstained or did not vote on a United Nations General Assembly resolution marking the one-year anniversary of the war calling for Russia to withdraw from Ukraine.
Mali and Eritrea- voted against the resolution. Kuleba in his statement highlighted efforts to unload Ukraine’s grain exports, which have been crippled by the Russian naval blockade of the country’s ports.
African countries have been hit hard by the war-induced increase in inflation, especially in terms of cereals, of which they are the main importers.
A total of 123 ships carrying more than three million tons of agricultural products have been sent to African countries: Ethiopia, Libya, Morocco, Egypt, Kenya, Sudan, Tunisia, Somalia and Algeria.
”Tonnes of wheat is been ship to Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia and Yemen,” he said.
“Other ships are preparing. Families in Africa should not suffer because of Russia’s war against Ukraine.”
