Angolan leader accepts Putin’s invitation to Russia-Africa forum in October

MOSCOW, April 4./TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday invited his Angolan counterpart Joao Lourenco to take part in the Russia-Africa forum due in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on October 24. "On October 24, Sochi will see a major forum, Russia-Africa. We hope to see you there," the Russian leader said at the talks. Lourenco said he would attend the forum ‘with great pleasure’. Welcoming the Angolan president in Moscow, Putin noted that he knew Russia well, having studied in Russia in 1978-1982 (at Lenin Military Political Academy, department of history - TASS). "I expect you will find it interesting and pleasant to take a look at how Moscow and Russia are changing," Putin said. The Angolan leader emphasized Russia’s progress since his studies in the then Soviet Union, saying that Moscow back then and Moscow today were two different cities. The idea to hold a Russia-Africa forum was initiated by President Putin at the BRICS (Russia, Brazil, India, China and South Africa) summit in Johannesburg in July 2018. Within the framework of preparations, a public forum Russia-Africa was held in October 2018 and this year a parliamentary forum will take place in the same format. Russia will also host a meeting of shareholders of the African Export-Import Bank, which Russia joined recently. "We believe that this [summit] will allow us to significantly increase the level and quality of our cooperation and find certain ways to further enrich our historically friendly ties with African friends," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said earlier. President Putin appointed his Aide Yuri Ushakov to chair the organizational committee for the summit and other events within the Russia-Africa format. Read more