By Kester Kenn Klomegah*
MOSCOW | 29 July 2025 (IDN) — The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to implement a ‘visa-free regime’ with all African countries, but its policy towards Africa has been marred by excessive symbolism. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the ‘visa-free regime’ for Africa aimed to strengthen cultural relations with the continent. That tectonic announcement filled the local Russian media from Moscow to Vladivostok.
Later, the Russian Foreign Ministry clarified that the ‘visa-free regime’ for African countries was still under serious review. Diplomatic talks with various countries on the drafts of visa-free travel agreements were underway at different stages, as each had its specific requirements. Additionally, there was a need to categorise African countries into groups.
On 2 October 2024, Russian Foreign Ministry’s Consular Department Head Alexey Klimov explained in an interview with local Russian media: “Russia is currently working out travel agreements on abolishing visa requirements and providing visa-free entry for short-term trips, usually up to 90 days, with several friendly states, nine of them being the countries of Africa and the Middle East.”
“As always, we will immediately inform the public about the concrete results achieved and embodied in documented bilateral agreements,” Klimov concluded, the full transcript posted on the official ministry’s website.
With the changing times, Russia has been pursuing an integrative, multipolar approach to relations with friendly countries around the world, including those in Africa. Asian countries have been granted such short-term visa-free privileges. In practical terms, this boosts tourism. It is noticeable that Russia remains a relatively unappealing holiday destination for Africa’s political elite, corporate business leaders, and the middle class. Undoubtedly, African politicians and corporate business leaders highly prefer to spend their vacation in the United States and Europe. Some Asian destinations are becoming increasingly popular as a preferred choice for recreation. That trend is unlikely to change; it will remain as such for the next decades.
Tourism was a key topic at the Russia-Africa summits
Following the Russia-Africa summits, both Russia and Africa adopted joint declarations — in fact, comprehensive documents that outline various parameters for elevating cooperation to a new qualitative stage. Tourism is one of the most highly praised spheres during discussions. Brilliant speeches called for the frequent exchange of cultural groups and the taking of comprehensive measures to promote a broad scope of cultural and tourism collaboration between Russia and Africa.
Ultimately, to boost compelling economic interests and foster cooperation, frequent interactions are necessary. The frequency of interaction should not be limited to summits and conferences alone. Some basic strategic steps and measures are also required to encourage simple holiday travels to both regions. These are significantly missing in the current relations between Russia and Africa. Critics often argue that Russia is contributing considerably to its so-called isolation by closing its doors, especially when there are considerable opportunities to develop high-quality tourism. The African elite could visit Moscow, St. Petersburg, and coastal cities, including Sochi, as well as along the Volga River.
Indeed, playing with flexible visa regimes will not only promote tourism and strengthen cultural ties, but also, in practical terms, will build positive perceptions and further help to neutralise a high level of Western media disinformation across the continent. There is a need to adopt a pragmatic approach to these crucial questions and carefully examine social aspects to enhance people-to-people interactions.
Notably, Russian officials consider official state visits by heads of African states and ministers to be an essential pillar of their version of building relations in the anticipated multipolar world.
With the current geopolitical situation, Africa’s middle class, estimated at 380 million (twice the population of Russia), has suitable alternative holiday destinations. For now, Moscow and St. Petersburg are not their desired priority for spending vacations. Russian tour operators acknowledge, in a media query with this article’s author, that there is no bilateral entrepreneurial activity between Russia and the African tourism sector. However, on the other hand, African destinations such as Egypt, Morocco, the Maldives, Seychelles, South Africa, and Zanzibar are popular among Russian vacationers.
Most often, Russian and African experts have been discussing how best to promote exchanges of delegations, explore untapped resources, and explore the possibilities of boosting cooperation in the field of tourism, as well as the dissemination of information on tourism opportunities in the Russian Federation and African States.
Over the past few years, the summit declarations have remained tacitly as declarations. In practical terms, the visa-free regime for African countries has mainly remained as official documents stored in computerised files and will later be archived electronically. The fundamental question often asked is for what purposes the summit declarations are made.
Multifaceted relations with Russia
Russia is ready to build multifaceted relations with Africa. “If Russia Wins, Africa Wins!” remarked Azali Assoumani, Chairman of the African Union and President of Comoros, during the late July St. Petersburg summit plenary session in 2023.
With hopes for an enduring collaboration on long-term programs, the Secretariat of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum was created. And it has since been networking, intending to promote Russia’s economic interests in Africa and to foster mutually beneficial cooperation with African countries.
Local Russian media are abuzz with the latest information emerging from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which states that Russia plans a ‘visa-free regime’ with all African countries. This initiative is further explained as being within the framework of the Joint Action Plan (2023-2026) adopted at the second summit in St. Petersburg.
From investigations, Russia has ‘visa-free agreements’ with only six African countries. The visa-free regime only applied to African countries that signed agreements with the Foreign Ministry. Within the agreements, only holders of diplomatic passports are permitted under this consular agreement.
According to sources monitored, agreements would be signed after successful negotiations with Russian authorities. One source confirmed in an interview with me that Russia has an agreement on “visa-free travel for holders of diplomatic service passports” with 32 countries on the continent. It yet refused to make public the official list of approved African countries.
More like a ‘virtual great power’
Thus far, Russia appears more like a ‘virtual great power’ than a genuine, practical challenger to European, American, and Chinese influence. Official speeches have frequently highlighted these narratives over anti-colonialism and anti-Western criticisms, and have further described measures primarily aimed at ensuring Africa’s sovereignty.
The Director of the Department of Partnership with Africa of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Tatiana Dovgalenko, in an interview with the TV BRICS channel on 9 July 2025 emphasised that the importance of her new department is its functionality — focus on the comprehensive, integrated development of relations between Russia and the entire African continent, which are experiencing a genuine revival today. It implies that the main task is to implement the decisions which cover a wide range of cooperation areas, including culture and tourism.
While Russian officials focus on their work aimed at increasing the Russian presence in Africa, the role of Africa in the Russian Federation is vastly underestimated. At these changing times, officials have to necessarily note with mutual interest the economic presence of Africa, beyond just training students, in the Russian Federation. And, of course, promoting African tourism is not only a promising niche but also a unique pathway for sustaining bilateral cooperation.
Still on the topic of bilateral tourism, Tatiana Dovgalenko rightly pointed out that more active participation by representatives of the African tourism industry in various events in Russia, along with the introduction of visa-free travel to African countries, would help increase the tourist appeal of Africa. And vice versa, as a dual highway. Within the Action Plan of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum for the period 2023-2026, it is anticipated that both Russia and Africa will hold constructive positions on their mutual bilateral ties in this emerging multipolar world.
*Kester Kenn Klomegah focuses on current geopolitical changes, foreign relations and economic development-related questions in Africa with external countries. Most of his well-researched articles are reprinted in several reputable foreign media outlets. [IDN-InDepthNews]
Image: Red Square, Moscow. Source: My Guide Moscow
