(Ecofin Agency) - Despite a promise made by the Russian president at the inaugural Russia-Africa Summit in 2019 to increase trade with the continent to "$40 billion over five years," recent figures for the first nine months of this year indicate that Moscow still has a significant gap to bridge.

Trade between Russia and Africa reached $15.5 billion in the first nine months of 2023, marking a significant 43.5% increase compared to the same period in 2022. This good performance was reported by Russian media outlet RBK on September 30, citing data from the Russian Ministry of Economic Development.

Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and Libya were cited as Russia's primary trading partners on the continent during the period under review. Although the volume increased sharply it falls considerably short of Moscow's ambitious commitments outlined at the initial Russia-Africa summit held in 2019 in Sochi. Back then, the Russian president pledged to "double trade with Africa from 2018 levels to $40 billion in five years."