In competition with the UAE and Qatar, Saudi Arabia seeks to expand its influence in Africa, which has invested in various parts of the Black Continent.
The recent period has witnessed Saudi Arabia’s extensive activity in Africa in the context of diversifying its regional and international alliance maps and infiltrating the Black Continent.
Saudi Arabia’s efforts began years ago to expand the influence of Arab and regional countries on the African continent, given the continent’s importance at the political, economic, and trade levels.
Saudi Arabia intends to expand its relations with African countries by infiltrating the African continent, and given the continent’s economic importance, it is looking for new investments in the black continent to start channels of communication with new countries.
Saudi influence in Africa
It seems that Saudi Arabia has recently focused on expanding its network of relations in Southeast Africa, where these regions, especially Africa (Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea, and Ethiopia) and other continents due to their proximity to the Arabian Sea, the ocean. India is of great strategic importance.
The main considerations of Saudi Arabia towards this region are strategic and security considerations. The location of the East and Horn of Africa in the periphery of Saudi Arabia and, of course, the location of these countries in the geostrategic areas, including the Red Sea, the Strait of Bab al-Mandeb, the Gulf of Aden, and the proximity to the Suez Canal, make Saudi Arabia sensitive to these areas. Proximity to countries in the region has doubled.
Ahmed Abdulaziz Qatan, the Saudi Minister of State for African Affairs, announced his first visit to Rwanda to strengthen relations between the two countries.
Qatan and his entourage were welcomed at Kigali International Airport by Philippe Carney, Director General for Asia-Pacific Affairs at the Rwandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and Jamal Madani, Ambassador-at-Large in Uganda.
Saudi Arabia and Rwanda signed a joint agreement in the fields of economy, trade, investment, education, arts, culture, media, and sports tourism.
Prior to Rwanda, Ahmed Abdulaziz Qatan announced his African visit to South Sudan, where he met with President Salwa Kerr and Foreign Minister Beatrice Khamiseh, during which the two sides discussed bilateral relations. And ways to strengthen and develop it in all areas.
Last month, the Saudi advisory minister met with an African leader on an official visit. There, he held talks with South African President Cyril Ramafosa, Djibouti President Ismail Omar Ghaela, and Ugandan President Yuri Missoni.
