French Development Agency (AFD) round table

SATURDAY 8 OCTOBER – 2.15 pm

AFD round table

Africa and the war in Ukraine: what are the humanitarian and geopolitical implications for the continent?

Moderated by Jean Bertrand Mothes (AFD), with Dr. Comfort ERO, chair of International Crisis Group, Frédéric Joli, ICRC spokesperson for France and Ksenia Bolchakova, co-director of “Wagner, l’armée de l’ombre de Poutine”.

Far from the violence being caused by the Russian army on Ukrainian soil, another catastrophe is afflicting Africa. The people of Africa were already suffering from the consequences of the Covid 19 pandemic and the effects of climate change; now they have to cope with the implications of the conflict for their food security: including supply problems in obtaining agricultural raw materials and soaring food prices. In the west of the continent, for example, 38 million people are in need of immediate food and nutritional assistance (RCPCA, 2022). The areas around Lake Chad and the region of the three frontiers, where Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger intersect, are particularly badly affected and a source of concern. However, from a geopolitical point of view, the reactions of African states to the war in Ukraine vary, reflecting the war of influence playing out between Russia and Europe across the continent. This round table will look at the consequences of the war in Ukraine as seen from Africa, through the different perspectives of our guests, focusing on the humanitarian crisis and geopolitical destabilisation provoked by the conflict.

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Halle Ô Grains
66 rue Saint-Jean
Free admission