The article contains an analysis of economic and trade relations between the North African countries and the Russian Federation in the late 20th– early 21st century. For a long time these relations have been under influence of the Cold War. This influence displays itself in the body and structure of business connections which - with certain countries - used to consist largely of military-tech cooperation, but contributed little to any investment projects. In the early 2000s, the partner-countries started to look for new, innovative forms of business cooperation which would correspond to their national interests, the spirit of time and the calls of the 21st century. By 2017, Russia and the North African states which had put great efforts in a complex environment (economic crisis on the cusp of the 20th and 21st centuries, difficulties of economic reforming, change of economic bodies, review of legal basis governing foreign trade relations, etc.), managed to turn the tide and achieve significant positive results - the structure of exports of goods and services has transformed, the volumes of bilateral trade have increased, the legal basis for business cooperation has developed, investment activity has also slightly increased. However, several major problems still await response, a number of projects have failed to launch. The forecast for development of Russia's trade and economic ties to the North African countries is based upon both analysis of what has been achieved and evaluation of priority fields of cooperation which have large resources and a potential for further growth. These fields include exploration surveys, acquisition of gas, petroleum, uranium and bauxite assets, construction of power assets - hydroelectric and nuclear power plants, building of railroads, opening of Russian trade houses for promotion and servicing of the Russian machinery-tech products, participation of Russian companies in privatization of industrial assets. Implementation of these plans is related to the economic growth in the partner-countries, focus on carving cooperation out of destructive influence of a dynamic political environment.