Participants during the workshop

f.l.t.r: Prof. Dr. Mustafa Aydın, Professor at Department of International Relations of Kadir Has University; Dr. Canan Atilgan, Director pf the KAS Regional Program South Mediterranean; Claudia Crawford, Head of the KAS Office Russia, Dr. Irina Zvyagelskaya, Head of the Section for Middle East Studies at the Institute for World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Dr. Sergey Kostelyanyets, Senior Research Fellow at the Center for North African and African Horn Studies and the Institute for African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences during his presentation

f.l.t.r.: Dr. Hamza Meddeb, Associate Fellow for the Middle East and North Africa Program at Chatham House; Dr. Can Kasapoglu, IPC-Stiftung Mercator Fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs; and Alexandre Kateb, Director of Compétence Finance

The last years have seen an increasing engagement of Russia in the Southern Mediterranean region. Through the revival of old ties and the creation of new partnerships, Russia has managed to establish itself as an important player in the region, both in geopolitical and economic terms. What are the Russian ambitions and strategic objectives underlining this move? What partners and networks is Russia relying on in order to advance its goals in the region? And what does a stronger Russian presence mean for regional power dynamics?

In order to contribute to the debate on Russia’s aspirations in the region and on the widening role of global powers in the Mediterranean region more generally, the KAS Regional Program South Mediterranean invited experts from Russia, the Southern Mediterranean and Europe to a closed-door expert workshop in Marrakech from 17-18 September. The workshop entitled “Russia’s Economic Ties and Political Networks in the Southern Mediterranean” is the second regional workshop of its kind in order to provide a platform to develop a deeper understanding of Russian activity in the Mediterranean region, with a particular focus on North Africa.

During the workshop, the participants discussed the characteristics of Russia’s presence in the region, as well as Russian economic and political ambitions and how they are reflected in partnerships with countries from the region. Moreover, the discussions also covered the role of other external actors in order to achieve stability in the Southern Mediterranean.