Date and time: Feb. 5 at 12:00 p.m.
Organizer: Centre for African Strategy in BRICS
Theme: “Uganda - the new East African partner of BRICS”
Location: Conference hall of the Institute of African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Format: English language
February 5, 2025 Центр изучения африканской стратегии БРИКС Института Африки РАН Center for African Strategy in BRICS held the second international research seminar “Uganda as a New East African Partner of BRICS” with the participation of Russian and African researchers, representatives of the Ugandan diplomatic corps and the Ugandan diaspora in Russia. According to Daria Zelenova, PhD, Head of the Center for African Strategy in BRICS, the interdisciplinary scientific seminar involving researchers and experts from African countries was conceived as a platform for discussing issues of multilateral cooperation between Russia and African states, including in the BRICS format. The event includes presentations by Maya Nikolskaya, Head of the Center for African Studies at the MGIMO Institute of International Relations, and Brian Mugabi, Ph.D., Lecturer at the Faculty of International Relations, MGIMO University, Chairman of the Ugandan Diaspora in Russia.
In their speeches, the experts highlighted the motives for Uganda's cooperation with the association, the opportunities and limitations of the African state's integration into the BRICS structures, as well as the views of Uganda's neighbors on the new partnership. Maya Viktorovna drew attention to the fact that Uganda is one of Russia's main and priority partners in East Africa, which views BRICS as a platform for developing mutually beneficial cooperation not only with China (the country's largest trading partner), but also with India and Russia. In addition to undeniable economic advantages, such as participation in BRICS New Development Bank projects, reduced dependence on aid provided by Western donors and Bretton Woods institutions, and diversification of trade ties through increased access to the growing markets of the Global South, Uganda, according to the speakers, also pursues political interests. Partnership with BRICS will strengthen the state's position in regional processes.
According to Brian Mugabi, an important starting point for the African state's search for alternative formats of international cooperation was the U.S. decision to exclude Uganda from the AGOA (African Growth and Trade Opportunity Act) program from January 1, 2024 under the pretext of “gross violations of human rights” on the country's territory. This restricts duty-free access of Ugandan products (coffee, textiles) to the US market. Dialogue within the BRICS framework, on the contrary, is based on the principles of mutual non-interference in internal affairs, respect for interests and national characteristics.
As Mr. Mwebaze Gideon Rutazindwa, Counselor-Embassador of the Republic of Uganda in Russia, who was present in the hall, noted, the state advocates for fairer and more equitable international economic relations. For instance, in the absence of necessary processing facilities in the country, European countries are the main beneficiaries of Ugandan coffee exports. The BRICS platform opens up prospects for establishing direct links between coffee producers and consumers, which will require appropriate logistical and financial support.
According to M.V. Nikolskaya, the accession of Uganda will definitely affect the identity of BRICS, which has established itself as an association of the largest economies of the non-Western world. At the same time, experts are convinced that the activities of the BRICS should not be viewed through the prism of the “West-Anti-West” dichotomy. For African states, the BRICS is an alternative to traditional partners and an opportunity to build a multi-vector foreign policy.
According to D.A. Zelenova, new interdisciplinary studies on the development and security of the African continent, integration issues and assessments of the potential for cooperation within the BRICS framework will be presented at regular seminars of the Center for the Study of BRICS African Strategy.
