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The Prime Minister of Burkina Faso, Apollinaire Joachim Kyelem de Tambela has expressed an interest in joining BRICS. In a meeting with Russian Ambassador Igor Martynov in Ouagadougou on Monday (September 24), he said that “Membership of the BRICS group would make it possible to challenge the domination of the dollar and the euro, and to achieve fairer trade relations on the international stage.”
Following the meeting, the Burkinabe government published a post on Facebook, confirming that Kyelem de Tambela had “argued for Burkina Faso’s joining the integration of BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa).”
Martynov also discussed proposals for Russia’s development of a nuclear power plant in Burkina Faso saying that “The meeting was very fruitful and successful. We are in tune regarding our approaches to bilateral cooperation. We also discussed intensifying our cooperation in all areas.”
In June 2023, the Burkinabe government and the BRICS group signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation. The document defines areas of cooperation, which include the economy, health, education, infrastructure, air and rail transport, industry, commerce, mines, energy, sport, culture, information and communication technologies, and tourism.
Burkina Faso is one of the least developed countries in the world, with a GDP (PPP) of just US$63 billion. However, natural resources include gold, manganese, limestone, marble, phosphates, pumice, and salt. Agriculture represents 32% of its gross domestic product and occupies 80% of the working population, consisting mostly of rearing livestock. In the south and southwest, the people grow crops of sorghum, pearl millet, maize (corn), peanuts, rice and cotton, with surpluses to be sold. A large part of the economic activity of the country is funded by international aid, despite having gold ores in abundance.
Russia will be looking at mining opportunities. In July this year, Igor Martynov the Russian Ambassador said that Burkina Faso may give Russian company Nordgold preferential treatment in gold mining. Burkina Faso imports from Russia reached US$57.73 Million in 2023, and included mineral fuels, oils, distillation products, explosives, iron and steel, fertilizers, cereals, and pharmaceutical products. Moscow also gifted 25,000 tonnes of wheat to Burkina Faso last year.
Burkina Faso’s exports to Russia reached US$306,000 in 2023, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade. Although small, that represented an increase of 50% over 2022. Burkina Faso exports to Russia consisted mainly of rubber.
For more up-to-date intelligence about BRICS and the potential new members, please review our special BRICS article category here.
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