Cooperation between Russia and African countries must be elevated to the level of a strategic partnership, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday ahead of the upcoming Russia-Africa Summit in St. Petersburg
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th June, 2023) Cooperation between Russia and African countries must be elevated to the level of a strategic partnership, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday ahead of the upcoming Russia-Africa Summit in St. Petersburg.
"We believe that the results of the St. Petersburg (Russia-Africa) Summit will help us set the course for the development of our relations in the coming years. I am convinced that our common main task should be to bring Russian-African cooperation to the level of a strategic partnership. Of course we will achieve this," he said at a reception to celebrate Africa Day.
The minister also thanked the African partners for their balanced position on the current political developments in which Russia is involved.
"I would like to express my gratitude to our African partners who have not allowed (others) to drag them into the anti-Russia campaign and have taken a balanced stance on the European security crisis," he said.
The first Russia-Africa Summit took place in the Russian resort city of Sochi from October 23-24, 2019. It was followed by the Russia-Africa economic forum. This year, both the second summit and the economic forum are due to be held in St. Petersburg from July 26-29.
