卷 94, 编号 6 (2024)

The article presents results of the analysis of African transnational corporations (TNCs) which is a relatively new phenomenon. Based on contradictory statistical data, the author presents data on the leading sources of legal capital outflows in the form of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Africa. The specifics of FDI outflows from South Africa, Arab countries of North Africa, Nigeria and other significant countries of Tropical Africa are shown. The importance of cooperation between Russian companies and African TNCs in the investment development of Africa is emphasized. It is argued that without strengthening Russian direct investors on this continent, it is impossible to expect further significant growth in Russia’s foreign trade turnover with African countries, which accounted for only 3.5% of its volume in 2023.

The author notes that if Russia’s turn towards the global South is limited to strengthening ties with two or three dozen Asian countries, it is unlikely that Russia will be able to take leading positions in the emerging polycentric world order. The support of African states freed from European colonial oppression is necessary in the confrontation with the collective West, but the attitude towards the policy of the Russian Federation is largely associated with the intensity of economic contacts.

Africa’s rapid socio-economic development makes the problem of access to clean water in the region extremely urgent. The need to improve the relevant infrastructure is recognised not only at the level of national governments, but is also becoming an important task for international development institutions, including African ones. In particular, the African Development Bank Group has created the “Water Strategy 2021–2025”.

The article collects, systematises and analyses quantitative indicators that reflect the access of people and economic sectors to clean water, as well as the financing of this area and its place in global (Sustainable Development Goals 2015–2030, Millennium Development Goals 2000-2015) and African (“Agenda 2063”) strategies. The authors of the article conclude that modern African approaches to expanding access to clean water and new infrastructure projects imply efficient and systematic use of water resources not only within the national borders of the countries, but also at sub-regional and macro-regional scales. In terms of Russian-African partnership, in addition to investments in infrastructure, technology transfer can play a special role. The priority African markets for the introduction of Russian technologies in the field of water treatment and purification include the countries where the water problem is the most acute and oriented towards cooperation with Russia, in particular, Burkina Faso, Niger, Egypt, Sudan, Algeria, and Zimbabwe.

The Republic of Guinea has outstanding mineral resources. An analysis of current data has shown that in the near future this country will maintain its leading position in the world in the extraction and export of bauxite, as well as increase the production and export of alumina. Guinea has significant potential to develop large and rich iron ore deposits, but the development of this industry is hampered by the lack of infrastructure and an unstable geopolitical situation. Gold mining is successfully developing in the Siguiri ore region, where new promising deposits are discovered almost every year and new mines are put into operation. Guinea’s diamond deposits are among the most famous in West Africa and the world as a whole. However, the fall in global diamond prices in recent years has led to a slowdown in exploration, a lack of major discoveries and, consequently, a reduction in exports.

The article provides a brief overview of the main results of studies on mammals in Ethiopia performed by the Joint Ethio-Russian Biological Expedition. The mammals of the country represent a suitable model for studying the processes of evolution and speciation in the mountainous tropics, as well as ways to adapt to the conditions of the highlands. The results obtained are of particular importance for the development of a number of areas of evolutionary biology, as well as nature conservation and medical biology: exploring mechanisms for the emergence of high biodiversity and endemism; empirical verification of alternative speciation hypotheses; assessment of the role of introgressive hybridization in evolution; study of coevolution of functionally related mitochondrial and nuclear genes. Using the example of the Ethiopian Highlands, the prospects for further studies of the processes of conjugate evolution of small mammals and their specific arena- and hantaviruses in conditions of long-term isolation are demonstrated.

Modern scientific research is impossible without a broad international cooperation. Sometimes its necessity is dictated by economic reasons, sometimes by the fact that different countries have developed different branches of science and technology needed for a specific experiment, and sometimes the geography also contributes to the cooperation. As you know from the school curriculum, from our northern latitudes, where Russia is located, not the entire sky is visible. For example, Russian astronomers will not be able to see the Magellanic Clouds or the famous Southern Cross without traveling to the southern hemisphere. It seems even more important to provide Russian scientists with the opportunity to conduct research throughout the entire sky, as well as the ability to continuously receive scientific data from spacecrafts both current and future. To solve these problems, it seems appropriate to expand cooperation in the field of astronomy and space research with the South African Republic.