Re-Think Russian Investment in Southern Africa

WWF’s Trade and Investment Programme Report, 2009

56 Pages Posted: 21 Apr 2010

See all articles by Ivetta Gerasimchuk

Ivetta Gerasimchuk

International Institute for Sustainable Development

Date Written: January 15, 2009

Abstract

Russia’s direct investment of about USD 3 billon in Southern Africa over the past decade has placed before the country’s government and corporate sector two choices in the accelerating race among foreign investors into Africa. The first choice is to follow the established path of direct investment from developed economies that has, in the words of a famous African leader Walter Rodney, ‘underdeveloped Africa’ and involved a serious negative environmental impact. The second choice is one that corresponds with the former Soviet Union’s policy of mutually advantageous cooperation with Africa. In the current context, this will prove possible only through joint cooperation to achieve environmental sustainability and economic diversification requiring long-term planning and innovation.

The purpose of this interdisciplinary empirical research paper is to investigate the current and future state of environmental practices in joint ventures between Russia and Southern Africa as compared with other patterns of cooperation among emerging market economies.

Keywords: Russia, FDI, investment, Southern Africa, SADC, sustainable development, leapfrogging development, natural resources

JEL Classification: Q32, P33, O55, Q56

Suggested Citation

Gerasimchuk, Ivetta, Re-Think Russian Investment in Southern Africa (January 15, 2009). WWF’s Trade and Investment Programme Report, 2009, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1592930 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1592930

Ivetta Gerasimchuk (Contact Author)

International Institute for Sustainable Development ( email )

161 Portage Avenue East, 6th Floor
Winnipeg
Manitoba, R3B 0Y4, Manitoba
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.iisd.org/gsi

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