Moving away from dependence on the US dollar could transform Africa’s economic future, Mashood Jacob Ajene, an expert with the Africa-Russia Research Centre in Ghana, has told RT in an exclusive interview.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Ministerial Conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum, Ajene stated that with over 1.2 billion people, Africa could strengthen its position by adopting a single currency, and that multipolar developments led by Russia and China are opportunities for Africa to enhance its economic resilience.
“The US is very powerful because of the dollar, and the dollar is only a paper,” Ajene remarked, pointing out that Africa’s reliance on the dollar constrains its potential.
Ajene also highlighted the potential impact of US leadership on global conflicts, referencing US President-elect Donald Trump’s pledge to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict within 24 hours if re-elected. This, Ajene contends, emphasizes Western roles in escalating tensions.
“People want the war to end, and they know that Donald Trump will stop the war,” Ajene stated, suggesting that a shift in US foreign policy could alter the dynamics of the current conflict.
Speaking to RT correspondent Donald Courter in an exclusive interview, South Africa’s Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Thandi Moraka urged African nations and the broader Global South to assert greater independence in their development strategies, free from Western influence.
“It’s high time for the African countries or the countries in the Global South to really stand up on their own and be able to dismantle the power authorities that have been at the center of the unipolar world,” Moraka stated.
She emphasized the need for unity among the Global South nations, saying, “Africa’s problems need Africa’s solutions.” The minister noted that by fostering collaboration and standing firm together, these states can transition away from a unipolar system to a multipolar world, where each country’s sovereignty is respected and the rule of law is upheld.
The inaugural ministerial conference, hosted at the Sirius Federal Territory near the city of Sochi on the Black Sea, was held on November 9-10 and featured more than 40 government ministers from across Africa.