Director of the Center for African Studies participated in the discussion on the situation in Chad
Andrey Maslov, Director of the Center for African Studies, took part at the round table “Chad after the elections: political situation, threats to stability and development prospects” organized by the Russian news agency “African Initiative”.
During the event, experts shared their views on current issues of development of the Republic of Chad, as well as elaborated on Western influence on the Central African countries.
Among the topics for discussion were prospects and challenges of trade and economic cooperation between Russia and Chad, including competition with French business and hardships for Russia in organizing logistics chains.
Andrey Maslov, Director of the Center for African Studies, noted that from an economic and agricultural point of view, Chad is a country for which an economic struggle may start in the long term.
“The West relied on Chad to remain the last defender of European interests in Africa, but the current president of the Republic, Mahamat Idriss Dby Itno, realizes the importance of sovereignty and resisting external influence”, - outlined Andrey Maslov.
In this regard, Russia should demonstrate the advantages of its approach to African countries. Moscow offers N'Djamena flexible formats of interaction, as well as technical assistance on a mutually beneficial basis. “At the same time, it is important to demonstrate to our partner that Russia doesn’t threaten its sovereignty,” - Andrey Maslov noted.
Secretary General of the Russian House in Chad Ahmat Tahir Bakhit, mentioned that for the government of the Republic of Chad the need for cooperation with Russia is obvious as “the situation is changing”.
Among the other participants to the roundtable were Anton Oblitsov, a representative of the BRICS International Strategic Project Alliance, who assessed the potential of French business in Chad; Lyubov Demidova, Chairman of the Board, Association "Strategic Agency for the Development of Relations with African Countries"; Valery Vysotsky, expert on Central Africa; Natalia Eremina, professor at St. Petersburg State University, Doctor of Political Science; and Anna Zamaraeva, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the African Initiative.