Russia Woos Africa With Free Grain, Fertilizer Research Funding
- Somalia, Burkina Faso set to receive first grain shipments
- Billionaire Melnichenko backs study for ex-South Africa leader
Wheat harvest in the Siberian Novosibirsk region.
Photographer: Valdimir Nikolayev/AFP/Getty Images
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Russian shipments of donated grain are due to begin landing in Africa within days, giving fresh impetus to its bid to bolster its influence in the continent.
President Vladimir Putin promised to send free grain to six African countries that have strong ties with Moscow at a Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg in July. The move followed criticism that Russia’s war in Ukraine and its withdrawal from a deal that facilitated the export of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea were pushing up global food and fertilizer prices.