Unprecedented Russian-African Summit in Africa-Russia Relations, say Putin and Al-Sissi
Cairo, Egypt (PANA) - The forthcoming two-day Russian-African Summit, starting Wednesday in Sochi, Russia, is of great importance because it is taking place at a time when the world is undergoing major changes and aims to inaugurate a framework of complementarity aimed at bringing relations of Russian-African countries to broader horizons for cooperation in different areas, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has said.
In a welcome note on the summit's official website, Al-Sissi said that "Russia and African countries are starting from the same ground on the basis of principles that respect the rules of international law, non-interference in the internal affairs of States, peaceful conflict resolution and commitment to multilateral work."
The Summit is based on a common vision of both sides to address new international challenges, including terrorism and extremism, against the backdrop of declining growth rates, said Al-Sissi, who is also current Chair of the African Union.
He said the two sides shared the same conviction on the need to strengthen trade and support investments for security, peace and development.
African countries have significant resources and means to match emerging economic forces, the Egyptian president noted.
Africa has achieved significant growth rates in recent years, he stressed, recalling the entry into force of the Continental Agreement on Free Trade in Africa at the AU Summit in Niger in July 2019.
He said the agreement was one of the fundamental objectives of the Africa Development Agenda and expressed the hope that the Russian-African Summit would launch effective strategic relations, based on cooperation between the two sides in order to contribute to the realization of the hopes and aspirations of the African peoples and the Russian people.
President Vladimir Putin, for his part, said on the same website that the Summit is unprecedented in the history of Russian-African relations.
He announced that the meeting will record the participation of leaders of government structures, businessmen and experts from "our countries to discuss the current situation and prospects for cooperation, as well as several urgent issues of the global economy."
African countries are now on the constant path of social, economic and scientific development, he noted, adding that Russian-African friendly relations have seen a marked improvement in recent years both in the bilateral as well as multilateral levels.
"We hope that at the Russian-African Economic Forum, which will be held on the margins of the Summit, new directions and forms for new cooperation between the two sides will emerge", the Russian president said.
He also expressed the hope that participants of this forum would "present new joint initiatives, which could raise the current cooperation between Russia and Africa at a qualitative level, resulting in the development of our countries and the well-being of our peoples".
-0- PANA YY/IN/JSG/BBA/AR 21Oct2019
