Russia has much to offer to African countries in terms of cooperation - Kremlin

MOSCOW, October 16. /TASS/. Moscow has a lot to offer to African countries in terms of mutually beneficial cooperation, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked if the upcoming Russia-Africa Summit meant that Moscow sought to compete with China and the western countries on the African continent. "This is not about competition but about mutually beneficial cooperation. Russia has always been present in Africa, as it is a very important continent. Russia has a lot to offer to African countries in terms of mutually beneficial cooperation. Russia traditionally maintains very close relations with many of these countries," the Kremlin spokesman pointed out. However, Peskov declined to answer a question about how many leaders of African countries had confirmed participation in the summit. He just said that some countries would be represented by their leaders, while other delegations would be led by prime ministers and foreign ministers. Russia’s Black Sea resort of Sochi will host the first-ever Russia-Africa Summit on October 23-24. The leaders of all 54 countries of the continent have been invited to the event, and more than 40 of them have confirmed their participation. Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt will co-chair the summit. An economic forum involving heads of state, state officials, businessmen and regional organizations is set to take place on the summit’s sidelines. Read more