60 Years of Trade and Economic Relations of the USSR/Russia with Guinea and Mauritania

Author:

Nina Grishina

Abstract:

The article deals with the main stages of economic, political and cultural cooperation between the Republic of Guinea and Mauritania and the USSR/Russia. It is emphasized that the Soviet Union was always ready to provide various types of assistance to Guinea, including the periods of cooling of bilateral relations. Guinea was the first state of French West Africa to gain independence, and one of the African countries that attempted to embark on the path of socialist development. Guinea had achieved independence as a result of a tough confrontation with the mother country – France. The course of non-capitalist development taken by the country’s leadership in the first years of state independence was combined with anti-imperialist and anti-colonial policies. The foreign policy course developed after gaining political independence was focused primarily on the development of comprehensive relations with African States. Relations with the Soviet Union, which was among the first to officially recognize the independence of Guinea, also took an important place. In addition, the most significant milestones of economic, political and cultural relations for Mauritania and the USSR/Russia are considered. Like most other African countries that gained independence in the 1960s, the Soviet Union provided multilateral assistance to Mauritania. Great importance was attached to the formation of modern infrastructure at that time. Soviet engineers, technicians, doctors, teachers and construction workers were sent to help develop the socio-economic sphere of Mauritania; Mauritanian citizens came to study in the USSR. There is a constant positive vector of Russian-Mauritanian relations, both at the government level and in the field of business contacts. It is emphasized that, despite the noticeable recovery in the political and business spheres in recent years, the real trade turnover between the countries is very small. It is concluded that a solid foundation has been laid for the further positive development of Russian-Mauritanian and Russian-Guinean relations over the decades of mutual cooperation.

Keywords:

Mauritania, Russia, Guinea, cooperation, gratuitous assistance, soft loans, foreign policy priorities, political influence

DOI:

10.31132/2412-5717-2020-53-4-33-42

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