ROE’s Exports to Sub-Saharan Africa Reach $1.7B

ROSOBORONEXPORT (ROE) -the state intermediary agency for Russia's exports/imports of defence-related and dual-use products, technologies, and services- announced that it has signed contracts estimated at more than USD 1.7 billion with Sub-Saharan Africa. These contracts were signed in 2020 and the beginning of 2021, ROE revealed on Monday.

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"ROSOBORONEXPORT successfully continues to foster military-technical cooperation with Sub-Saharan African countries, which received a strong impetus during the Russia-Africa Forum in 2019. In 2020 and early 2021 alone, we signed contracts worth over $1.7 billion in this region and brought the number of countries in Central, Western and Southern Africa in our order portfolio [from 12 in 2020*] to 17," said Alexander Mikheev, Director General of ROSOBORONEXPORT. 

Mikheev added that ROSOBORONEXPORT is marketing helicopters, air defense systems, naval products, armoured vehicles, equipment for law enforcement agencies, airport and critical infrastructure security equipment, small arms, including special weapons, in the region.

A delegation from JSC ROSOBORONEXPORT will take part in the Shield Africa 2021 International Security and Defence Exhibition, which will be held from 8 to 10 June at the Police Academy in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. 

Specialists of ROSOBORONEXPORT will present information about the BTR-80, 80A and 82A armored personnel carriers, Kalashnikov AK-100 and AK-200 series, AK-12 and AK-15 assault rifles, and AK-19, AK-308 rifles. Additionally, ROE's partners will be provided with information about Russian anti-tank guided missile systems, including the Kornet-E and Kornet-EM systems, 120 and 82 mm mortars.

The Military Industrial Company (VPK) will represent ROE's delegation to Shield Africa 2021. For the first time in Africa, VPK will showcase  full-scale VPK-233316 Tigr special armored vehicle in the Raid configuration, VPK-39473 Strela light armoured and VPK-Ural multi-purpose armored vehicles. 

According to the arms transfer database of the STOCKHOLM INTERNATIONAL PEACE RESEARCH INSTITUTE (SIPRI), states in Africa accounted for 18% of Russian arms exports in 2016-2020- an increase of 23% compared to the period between 2011-2015.

SIPRI's data show that in the period between 2016–2020 Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 26% of total African arms imports, compared with 41 per cent in 2011–15.

Russia was the largest arms exporter to sub-Saharan Africa in 2016–2020 with arms deliveries to 12 states represented 30% of total sub-Saharan arms imports, compared with 25% in 2011-2015.

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