ST. PETERSBURG, Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the trade turnover between Russia and African countries had increased by almost 35% in the first half of 2023 despite international sanctions and the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking at a trilateral
meeting with the Chairperson of the African Union, President of the Union of
Comoros Azali Assoumani, and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission
Moussa Faki Mahamat, Putin said "despite the difficulties related to the
coronavirus pandemic and the imposition of illegal sanctions against Russia, it
was possible to ensure the growth in the pace of trade and economic ties"
with African countries.
Putin added last year,
"the volume of mutual trade amounted to about 18 billion dollars."
"In the first half of
this year, the trade turnover increased by almost 35%," Putin noted.
"Russia continues to be a
reliable supplier of food to Africa," he added, saying that in 2022,
Russian exports of this group of goods had amounted to 4.7 billion
dollars."
Some African leaders arrived
in Russia for a summit with Putin as he seeks allies amid the military
operation in Ukraine, while the Kremlin accused Western powers of “outrageous”
efforts to pressure other African heads of state not to attend.
Putin has billed the two-day
summit that opens Thursday in St. Petersburg as a major event that would help
bolster ties with a continent of 1.3 billion people that is increasingly
assertive on the global stage.
But Azali Assoumani told Putin
during the meeting that they were "not going to close our eyes to the
issue between Russia and Ukraine, because these are two countries with which we
have partnerships, and we can see the negative consequences around the world,
specifically in Africa."
Yes! I can appreciate volume of trade, but how much went towards armament, thus fuelling civil conflicts in Africa, n Ukraine?
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