Abidjan, Feb. 23, (dpa/GNA) - Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has also affected Africa, where Moscow is “trying to destabilize entire regions,” according to German Development Minister Svenja Schulze.
“This wasn’t only an attack on Ukraine, but also an attack on the world’s poorest,” Schulze, who is currently on a five-day trip to West Africa, told dpa in Abidjan.
“The shock waves of the war, the high prices for food, fertilizer and energy have also reached West Africa, and many other countries in the Global South,” the minister said ahead of the anniversary of the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Friday.
In times like these, Germany needed friends and allies including in Africa, Schulze stressed. “Russia is also active in Africa and is trying to destabilize entire regions,” the minister said.
While Germany was supporting Ukraine as much as possible, Berlin hadn’t forgotten “the rest of the world and we have not dialled down our support for the poorest nations but expanded it,” the development minister said.
“We seek to strengthen and stabilize societies with our development programmes,” she added.
Schulze and German Labour Minister Hubertus Heil want to promote better working conditions and less environmental damage during their five-day visit to West Africa.
After spending two days in Ghana, where they visited one of the world’s largest markets for used clothes among other things, they will be in Ivory Coast, where they plan to visit a cocoa plantation, until Friday.
GNA