Paradoxes in the joint development of energy projects of Russia and African countries
There are three paradoxes due to which the development of Russian projects in African countries is stalling. This was stated by the General Director of the International Business Acceleration Center Yulia Berg during the expert seminar "African Energy Market: Development Trends and Problems" organized by the Russian International Affairs Council and the Institute for African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
The first paradox, according to her, is that the demand for energy in Africa is obvious, but local authorities cannot clearly determine what capacities are needed in the strategic perspective, since the emergence of large industrial consumers largely depends on foreign investors.
"Representatives of most countries do not control the entire situation and cannot give a specific answer," she emphasized. At the same time, investor interest in a market with huge potential remains high.
The second paradox
is related to the approach of Russian companies. The expert cited the example of Rosatom's project in South Africa, which never became national, but remained a personal project of the former president of the country.
"The PR and GR of the project were given almost no attention, and as soon as the former South African President Jacob Zuma started having problems, the project quickly failed," she noted.
The third important barrier was the problem of investments
. Many countries do not use a comprehensive approach to reforms - financial, political, administrative, the expert added. At the same time, there are successful examples, such as Zambia, where reforms and the creation of favorable conditions for the protection of investments yielded results.
In general, despite the understanding of the need for a comprehensive approach, the implementation of projects remains difficult and slow, getting stuck on various barriers.
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