ST. PETERSBURG (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th July, 2023) Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with Mali's interim president Assimi Goita on Saturday that the political dialogue between the two countries is intensive, but there is a decline in bilateral trade, although Russia's trade with many African countries is growing.
"We note the high intensity of political dialogue, our foreign ministers regularly communicate with each other ... For our part, we are aimed at intensifying trade and investment ties. Unfortunately, we are experiencing a certain decline (in trade), which was already small, although our trade is growing with many African countries," Putin said.
The Russian leader also said that Mali is one of Russia's key partners in the region and the authorities are interested in strengthening relations with the African country.
"We view Mali as one of the key partners in the region. And we share your interest in bringing relations to a new level of quality," Putin said.
On Thursday, Putin said that Russia would pay special attention to food supplies to Africa and was ready to supply Burkina Faso, Mali and Eritrea with 25-30,000 tonnes of grain free of charge. Putin also discussed the transfer of agricultural technologies to African countries.
