According to Semafor, Kiev intends to approximately double the number of embassies in Africa
Ukraine is trying to attract African countries to its side amid weakening support from the USA. This was reported by the US portal Semafor.
To strengthen ties with Africa, Kiev is seeking to expand the network of embassies on the continent and is increasing grain supplies. According to a Ukrainian official with whom the portal’s journalist spoke, Kiev intends to roughly double the number of embassies in Africa. Now Ukraine has 12 embassies in African countries, and 10-12 diplomatic missions should appear this year.
The portal writes that Ukraine also hopes that by expanding its grain export initiative it “will be able to dispel the impression that Russia is the only party to the conflict trying to mitigate the consequences” for African countries. “We will continue to support our partners in Africa who <…> are experiencing a food crisis,” Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy Markiyan Dmytrasievych told the portal.
According to the official, Kiev has delivered more than 200,000 tonnes of grain to African countries. In the near future, Kiev plans to supply agricultural products to Djibouti, DRC, Mozambique, Mauritania and Malawi with the support of the UN World Food Programme.
The portal notes that Ukraine is seeking to establish ties with Africa against the background of a possible visit of the country’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to South Africa. Earlier, speaking in Washington, South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said that Zelensky could visit the republic in the coming months.
Earlier, the British newspaper Financial Times reported that Ukraine was trying to enlist the support of France in order to attract countries of the global South to its side and dissuade them from supporting Russia.
The newspaper said that the backdrop for Kiev’s diplomatic efforts was the “painfully slow progress” of the Ukrainian summer offensive and the resulting “tensions between Kiev and its Western allies, led by the USA”.