The first ministerial-level meeting of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum was held in Sochi over Nov. 9-10, ending yesterday. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s message of greetings to the group was read yesterday by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
The event brought together 54 national delegations, including 45 ministers, from across Africa, for the 1,500 person attendees. Today a Joint Statement was issued. Sergey Lavrov noted that trade between Russia and Africa has grown to $24.5 billion annually, and that deals were signed between Russia and 33 countries during the event.
RT’s coverage of Putin’s speech reports, “Africa has been playing an increasingly important role on the world stage, Putin noted, with the countries of the continent consistently ‘pursuing a constructive, peaceful foreign policy.... They play an increasingly important role in resolving the most important issues on the international agenda,’ the President said, adding that Moscow has been seeking to develop and strengthen its ties with the continent’s nations in the emerging multipolar world. ‘Russia, for its part, attaches particular importance to strengthening the traditionally friendly relations with its African partners. We are united in the desire to build a fair, multipolar world order based on genuine equality and the rule of international law, free from any form of discrimination, dictate and sanctions pressure,’ Putin stressed.”
RT also reported on statements of support from the political leaders from Rwanda, Namibia, Burkina Faso, and Mali. The Mali leader said that relations with Russia have been “sincere,” as opposed to the “neo-colonial” approach from the Western leaders.
