Putin Suddenly Decided To Relocate Russian Companies' Factories To Africa
- 29.10.2026, 16:26
The sanctions are taking their toll.
Russia is ready to relocate some of its industrial enterprises to African countries, said Russian dictator Putin, according to The Moscow Times.
“This is fully in line with Russia’s interests, especially given today’s circumstances, when numerous sanctions are being imposed on the Russian economy and Russian companies,” Putin said at the “Russia–Africa” forum. According to him, Russian companies have “quite high” investment potential, and “there is work to be done here.” At the same time, he noted that investments in African countries must be “reliable and secure” so that production can continue “regardless of the foreign policy situation.”
Putin was responding to Burundi’s President Évariste Ndayishimiye, who stated that “Africa will not be content with exporting raw materials and importing finished products.” “We must develop our own industrial potential, modernize our agriculture, strengthen our energy infrastructure and logistics routes, and invest more in research and technological development,” Ndayishimiye said. He emphasized that Africa must become “a true market for production and sales, rather than remaining a consumer market.”
The day before, Putin stated that Russia had achieved “impressive results” in the development of high technologies and was ready to share its “know-how” with its “African friends.” “Our competitors have to catch up with us in certain areas and copy our developments,” Putin emphasized while addressing 22 leaders of African nations, including Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, and Mali.
Earlier, Russian Minister of Economic Development Maksim Reshetnikov stated that Russian companies are ready to manufacture products in African countries as part of industrial cooperation. “The main message we are bringing to Africa is: let’s work together to ensure sovereign development,” Reshetnikov said. He proposed cooperation in the fields of pharmaceuticals and IT solutions. For his part, the head of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade Anton Alikhanov announced Russia’s readiness to develop the automotive industry together with Africa.
The state corporation “Rosatom” proposed building floating nuclear power plants in coastal African countries. “As a first step, a floating nuclear power unit could serve as a good entry point to simultaneously address domestic challenges and join the nuclear club,” said a representative of the state corporation.
Novatek, Russia’s largest producer of liquefied natural gas (LNG), has offered African countries its own production technology, which has been tested in Arctic projects, while aluminum giant Rusal signed a memorandum with Ghana to establish a joint venture in the country for the extraction and processing of bauxite—the raw material for aluminum.
Prior to this, the head of the Russian Ministry of Energy Sergey Tsivilev stated that Russia is ready to conduct geological exploration in Africa and engage in gas production if deposits are discovered, modernize hydroelectric power plants, and build solar and thermal power plants.
The “Russia–Africa” Summit is taking place in Moscow on September 28–29. Forty-eight of the 54 African countries are participating.