Putin discussed with the President of South Africa the strengthening of cooperation and preparations for the BRICS summit
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Russian President Vladimir Putin and South African leader Cyril Ramaphosa held a telephone conversation during which discussed the past Russia-Africa forum and preparations for the BRICS summit, which will be held at the end of August.
“The President of South Africa gave a positive assessment of the results of the recent Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg, which will undoubtedly contribute to the further strengthening of Russia’s cooperation with African countries,” the Kremlin’s press service said in a statement.
The parties, as noted, expressed their intention for further productive interaction on international issues, including preparations for the BRICS summit. The presidents also discussed cooperation between the two countries “with an emphasis on strengthening trade, economic and investment ties.”
Earlier on July 29, Putin and Ramaphosa met Petersburg, during the talks, the Russian President noted the growth of trade between Russia and South Africa by 16.4%. He noted that “absolute figures could also be more,” but $1.3 billion “is already a worthy figure.”
The BRICS summit (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) will be held in the African Republic from 22 to 24 August. It will be held in person for the first time in three years.
At the end of April, it became known that Putin had received an invitation to the summit. At the same time, the visit of the Russian president is complicated by the warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague on March 17 for his arrest. On July 19, the press service of the South African president announced Putin’s decision not to go to the BRICS summit in South Africa. Moscow will be represented by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Peskov later clarified that Putin would take part in the events via video link.
The Russia-Africa summit was held in St. Petersburg from 27 to 28 July. Participation of delegations from 49 countries was announced, including 17 leaders of African states. As a result of the forum, a Russian-African declaration was adopted with points on cooperation in the areas of security, economy, education, etc.
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