Just as the US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson will be visiting some African countries this week so also is the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov who will be visiting from today Angola, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia and Ethiopia
During his tour, Mr. Lavrov will discuss the fight against terrorism and ways to boost trade and economic cooperation with Russia. The visit s aimed at strengthening ties in various fields and searching for new areas of trade, economic, scientific, technical and humanitarian cooperation.
“We expect a thorough exchange of views on a wide range of regional and global issues, including the fight against terrorism, steps to resolve crises, particularly in the Sahara-Sahel region, the African Horn and the Great Lakes region,” the Russian top diplomat noted.
Lavrov also said that Moscow placed great importance on boosting ties with Africa’s regional and sub-regional organizations, first and foremost, the African Union. In this regard, he mentioned his planned meeting with African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat. “We intend to touch upon relations between Russia and the African Union and discuss the organization’s role in finding appropriate responses to the numerous challenges and threats that the world has been facing,” Lavrov added.
Russia’s “trade with African countries located south of the Sahara was recorded at $3.6 bln in 2017 compared to $3.3 bln in 2016 and $2.2 bln in 2015.” “Today, Russian companies participate in exploration and mining projects in Africa, they are also active in the energy field,” Lavrov noted.
