L. Fituni, I. Abramova Resource Potential of Africa and Russia's ...

and technical cooperation with African countries irrespective of their
state system or orientation of their social development. At the same
time, it would be dishonest not to acknowledge that, where possible,
the Soviets tried to obtain certain political, economic, or military
gains from this cooperation. As a result, in exchange for assistance the
Soviets would get access to warm water ocean ports and supply bases,
some types of raw materials and products of tropical agriculture or
support from African states at the UN.
In defining the contents of agreements on economic and technical
cooperation, the USSR proceeded from the basic requirements of its
partners, their capacities and considerations of mutual advantage. In
accordance with the wishes of the governments of independent African
states, the USSR provided assistance to them in the construction
and exploitation of industrial enterprises, agricultural, transport, and
other projects, in prospecting, mining and using natural resources and
in training national personnel. Soviet-African economic and technical
cooperation envisaged:
- execution by Soviet organizations of design and prospecting
work, granting of scientific-technical and technological documents,
deliveries of equipment, machines and mechanisms, spare parts and
materials for the projects under construction;
- technical assistance provided by Soviet specialists in building,
mounting, commissioning and exploiting enterprises, as well as in
geological prospecting;
- assistance in setting up national geological, designing, building,
research and other organizations;
- assistance in working out national socio-economic development
plans and in organizing national economic management;
- aid in training national personnel, including skilled workers
and specialists for the construction and exploitation of industrial
enterprises and other projects built with Soviet assistance;
- dispatching Soviet specialists as consultants and experts at the
request of various state bodies of African countries. 2
All in all, the Soviet Union provided assistance in building industrial
enterprises in African countries with an overall capacity indicated
in Table 3.1.1.
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