The 45th meeting of the Council of Heads of Subjects under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation was held in Moscow under the chairmanship of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov. Among the issues discussed at the meeting was strengthening cooperation between Russian regions and African partners in the context of the upcoming Second Ministerial Conference of the Russia–Africa Partnership Forum in Cairo.
Sergey Lavrov called the African continent one of Russia's key foreign policy priorities.
"In our contacts with African friends, we notice what I would call the second awakening of Africa. From gaining political independence, they want to move towards managing their resources and wealth primarily in their national interests, while remaining open to international cooperation," the Russian Foreign Minister said.
Sergey Lavrov stressed that the Russian Foreign Ministry would do everything possible to encourage the interests of Russian regions to establish and develop mutually beneficial contacts with African states. The Minister stressed that Russian embassies in African countries will be involved in this work.
On behalf of Igor Babushkin, Governor of Astrakhan Region, Vladimir Golovkov, Minister of External Relations of Astrakhan region, took part in the 45th meeting of the Council of Heads of Subjects of the Russian Federation under the Russian Foreign Ministry, who reported on the experience and prospects of cooperation between our region and African partners.
He noted that for many years Astrakhan region has been successfully exporting educational services to the African continent. Today, about a thousand students from 35 African countries study at educational institutions in the region. Agreements are in force between Astrakhan universities and educational organizations in Benin, Egypt, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Cameroon.
In his speech, Vladimir Golovkov gave examples of the implementation of a number of projects in the field of aquaculture and commercial fish farming with African partners: Astrakhan State Technical University opened an institute of marine fisheries in Sierra Leone, and fish farms were established in Guinea.
"The shipbuilding industry is of interest to our African partners. We intend to discuss the construction of small fishing vessels for African countries at Astrakhan shipyards," said the Minister of External Relations of Astrakhan region. – We see prospects in the development of trade cooperation and cooperation within the framework of the International North–South Transport Corridor.
Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia