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MOSCOW, Russia, – Among the guests were the leaders of the following African countries: Angola, Botswana, Ethiopia, Gabon, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritius, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The leaders of Argentina (current president of the G20), Turkey (current president of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation) and Jamaica (current president of the Caribbean Community)
Before the meeting , there was a joint photo session
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Speech at the Meeting of BRICS Leaders with the Heads of Delegations of the Invited States [19659003] President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Dear Colleagues,
I would like to begin by welcoming the leaders of African countries and the heads of the countries that are currently the presidents of the G20, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Caribbean Community. 19659003] I am grateful to the President of the Republic of South Africa for organizing this representative meeting. Five years ago, in Durban, BRICS leaders held a meeting with African leaders for the first time. Since then, our Group of Five and African countries have significantly strengthened and expanded their cooperation in the economy, politics and the humanitarian sphere.
Africa is one of the fastest growing regions of the world. According to the UN, the continent's population will reach 2.5 billion by 2050. The level of urbanization in Africa is also increasing: the proportion of the population living in urban areas is expected to reach 60% from here 2050.
African domestic market and consumer demand are expanding. The BRICS and African states have similar development goals in many ways. In 2015, the BRICS summit in Russia adopted the BRICS large-scale strategy for economic partnership
We must think about involving our African partners and friends in the work of each of the areas we have identified: economy, finance, and food security.
Russia has always given priority to developing relations with African countries, on the basis of a long tradition of friendship and mutual badistance. We have recently had a number of high level contacts, including with many leaders present in this room.
Russia's trade with African states increased by more than 25% in 2017. Food supplies increased by 38%. 30, machinery and equipment – by 24%
We must think about involving our African partners and friends in the work of each of the areas we identified then: the economy, finance and food security
interested in working with African partners in various fields, including industry, agriculture, health, communications, geology and mining.
I will give some examples of the interaction of Russian companies with the countries represented at this forum. Yesterday, the President of Angola and I spoke about the joint work of Angolan companies and the Russian company Alrosa to develop the Katoka diamond deposit, which represents 6% of the world diamond production. [19659003] A joint venture was launched in Burundi to manufacture lighting equipment, including some products for export to other East African countries [19659003] Senegal implements projects in agriculture and construction of poultry and fish processing plants. note in particular that Russia plans to increase its support for the development of the national energy sector in African states. We are implementing promising oil and gas projects with a number of countries, such as Angola, Mozambique and Gabon.
In the nuclear, where Russia is a technology leader, we offer our African partners the creation of an entire industry. on a turnkey basis. Cooperation agreements in the area of atoms for peace have been signed with a number of countries in the region, while in some of them the work has acquired a practical dimension. All of these projects will be of strategic importance to Africa where, according to different estimates, 600 million people still live without electricity.
A considerable part of Russian initiatives provides for the location of industrial enterprises in Africa, including, among other things, the construction of factories manufacturing component parts and badembly work.
The implementation of these joint projects will strengthen industrial potential, support local businesses and create new, well-paying jobs. Overall, this will lead to an improvement in the standard of living and a solution of social problems in African states.
Russia has every interest in intensifying its interactions with African regional and subregional organizations, mainly with the African Union. as Southern African Development Community
The amount of Russian aid to Africa has exceeded one billion dollars in 2017. Russian contributions to the World Food Program funds do not exceed stop growing. Russia is the fifth largest contributor to the UNIDO Industrial Development Fund.
Considerable funds are donated to the World Health Organization for the fight against non-infectious diseases on the African continent. Our work fighting the Ebola virus has been shown to be very effective.
For years, Russia has trained national professional staff for the countries of the continent. Currently, thousands of Africans are educated in Russia. We will continue to develop cooperation in this area.
In conclusion, I would like to inform you that we are studying the idea of holding a Russia-Africa Summit with the participation of African Heads of State. This could be preceded by relevant meetings of business personalities, experts and public figures; I intend to discuss it with representatives of African countries.
Thank you for your attention.
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