Sao tome: As voters head to the polls, Sao Tome and Principe is attracting international scrutiny. A military agreement with Russia has heightened interest in the strategically located archipelago. Voters in Sao Tome and Principe will elect a new president on Sunday, ahead of parliamentary elections at the end of September. For the island nation of just 245,000 people, the elections are a major domestic political event. They are also attracting growing international attention. According to Deutsche Welle, since signing a military cooperation agreement with Russia in April 2024, the archipelago in the Gulf of Guinea has attracted renewed geopolitical interest. The key question is whether Russia is seeking to expand its influence in the South Atlantic through the archipelago or whether the military agreement is largely symbolic, with Sao Tome and Principe merely continuing its long-standing foreign policy of maintaining ties with a wide range of international partners. The former Portuguese colony off the coa st of Gabon and Equatorial Guinea marked the 51st anniversary of its independence on July 12. Although Sao Tome and Principe is one of Africa's smallest countries by both area and population, its location gives it strategic significance far beyond its size. The archipelago lies on the equator in the Gulf of Guinea, a region crossed by major international shipping lanes and home to significant oil and gas reserves. At the same time, piracy, organized crime, and the protection of maritime trade routes have turned the Gulf of Guinea into a key security hot spot. "Sao Tome and Principe is a small country, but because of its geographical location in the Gulf of Guinea, it has enormous strategic importance," former Foreign Minister Elsa Pinto told DW. "Major commercial and military routes pass through our waters. Even during the colonial era, our archipelago was of great importance because of its location between Africa and South America." Sao Tome and Principe drew international attention in the spring of 2024 a fter it emerged that the government had signed an open-ended military cooperation deal with Russia. According to Russian officials, the agreement covers military training, technical assistance, cooperation on arms and military equipment, intelligence sharing, and reciprocal visits by naval vessels and military aircraft. A separate accord was also signed between Russia's Interior Ministry and Sao Tome and Principe's national police force. Political analyst Arzemiro dos Prazeres, a former politician and president of the parliament, believes the significance of the agreement has often been overstated. "The agreement between Russia and Sao Tome and Principe has remained largely ineffective," he told DW. "It was signed, but it has never been implemented. Nothing has actually been put into practice." He believes much of the international criticism was misplaced. Elsa Pinto rejects suggestions that her country is turning away from the West. "Sao Tome and Principe wants to maintain good relations with all countries - the United States, Europe, Russia, and China alike." She said the country's foreign policy remains rooted in non-interference and in the principles of the African Union and the United Nations. "We will not abandon our values and principles. Our international partnerships are above all intended to support the country's development," she said. For that reason, she does not expect the elections to produce any major shift in foreign policy. "Very little will change. Sao Tome and Principe will continue cooperating with both Western and Eastern partners," Pinto added. That approach reflects the country's diplomatic evolution. Following independence in 1975, Sao Tome and Principe initially aligned itself closely with the Soviet Union under a Marxist system. After the introduction of multiparty democracy in the early 1990s, it gradually strengthened ties with Western partners while maintaining relations with a broad range of countries.