Russian investment has ensured an economic recovery in a number of African countries, Comoros President Azali Assoumani, who currently leads the 55-nation African Union, said on Thursday.
Moscow is an important and reliable partner which has helped Africa “in solving all the problems the continent faced,” he said during the Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg.
The leaders of 17 African countries are participating in the summit, seeking to bolster ties with Russia and promote development goals on their continent. Assoumani highlighted the importance of the event “not only for Russia-Africa relations but for the whole world as Russia is a global power.”
Addressing a plenary session of the summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged to ship free grain to some of Africa’s poorest nations within the next three to four months.
Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, the Central African Republic, and Eritrea will each receive 25,000 to 50,000 tons of grain, the Russian leader said, with Moscow covering the delivery costs.
The second Russia-Africa summit took place in the Russian city of St. Petersburg on July 27-28, with an economic and humanitarian forum held concurrently.
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