Sugakov G.K. Economy of the World Ocean: Promising Directions of Russian-African Cooperation

Sugakov G.K. Economy of the World Ocean: Promising Directions of Russian-African Cooperation.

Rep. editor: I.O. Abramova, member of the Presidium of the RAS, corresponding member. RAS, Doctor of Economics, Professor, Director of the Institute of African Studies of the RAS
M.: IAS RAS, 2025. – 184 p.
ISBN 978-5-91298-316-0

At the current stage of development of international economic relations, the role of the world’s ocean resources is growing, and their rational use will contribute to the economic development of the countries of the Global South and Russia, becoming one of the most important areas of Russian-African cooperation. The monograph comprehensively examines and proposes ways to strengthen Russian-African cooperation in the field of the oceans/blue economy. It examines the theory of this discipline, to which our country made a key contribution in the 1960s, while in English-language sources the terms “oceans/blue economy” began to be actively used only after 2010. The monograph defines the role and place of the oceanic/maritime component in the economies of Russia and African countries. The author proposes a methodology for assessing the Oceans Economy’s Potential (OEP), which has made it possible to identify a list of priority African countries for cooperation with Russia. For each of these countries, the most promising areas of cooperation with Russia are identified, taking into account the broader context of international economic relations.

Particular attention is paid to the problem of food security in Africa. It is shown that fish resources can significantly contribute to increasing its level, but at present they are not fully used for the benefit of the population of African countries. An important aspect of this problem is that Western countries are interested in increasing the production of fishmeal from fish that could be consumed directly. The development of aquaculture can also contribute to increasing fish consumption in Africa. Given Russia’s rich experience, a strategy for the rational use of fish resources in African countries can be formed on the basis of the Russian scientific expedition in 2024–2026. The monograph also emphasizes the important role of artisanal fisheries in Africa, the preservation of which is also taken into account by Russian companies.

Today, the ocean resources of African countries are of great interest to former colonizers who are joining the struggle for new, as yet unused wealth, and in the 21st century the main focus of attention is increasingly shifting to the ocean. The only question that remains is whether African countries will be able to extract the maximum benefit from those ocean resources that belong to them by geographic principle, or whether the resources will again de facto go to Western countries, as has already happened with land resources. Russia can play an important role in the formation of a more just world order, in the preservation and rational use of the ocean resources, given its historical role in the fight against colonialism and its consequences since the time of the USSR.

The book was published with the support of the President of JSC A7 Holding
Andrey Vladimirovich Severilov